GRACE  ILLUSTRATED; 


OK, 


A  BOUQUET  FROM  OUE  MISSIONARY  GARDEN. 


MR.  AND  MRS.  C.  H.  WHEELER, 

MISSrOKARIES    IN    HARPOOT, 
EASTERN   TURKEY. 


"I  am  come  into  my  garden,  my  sister,  my  spouse:  I  have 
gathered  my  myrrh  with  my  spice." 


BOSTOiq": 
CONGREGATIONAL    PUBLISHING    SOCIETY, 

BEACON  STEEET. 


COPTEIGHT. 

CONGREGATIONAI-  PUBLISHING  SOCIETY. 

1876. 


BOSTON : 

BTEEEOTTPED  BY  C.  J.  PETERS  ANI>  SOW, 

73  FEDERAL  STREET. 


Franklin  Press :  Rand,  Averi/,  If  Co.,  Boston. 


^V 


^^\S  ^'^^ 


3110 


CONTElTTa 


PAGE. 

1. 

A   WORD   WITH   THE    READER. 

.      5 

II. 

BLIND   JOHN   CONCORDANCE      . 

.    11 

III. 

BLIND   DONABED        .           .           , 

.     58 

IV. 

THE   VICTORIOUS   BAKER 

.    64 

V. 

CRITICISM   DISARMED 

.    72 

VI. 

LITTLE    GREGORY      . 

.    77 

VII. 

SEED   BY   THE   WAYSIDE 

.     89 

VIII. 

DEACON   HAGOP 

.     99 

IX. 

THE   BROKEN   VOW  . 

.  123 

X. 

ONE   OF   god's   "  HIDDEN   ONES  "     . 

.  127 

XI. 

THE   LITTLE    HUMPBACK. 

.  132 

XII. 

KOORDISH   AMY          .            .           .           . 

.  148 

XIU. 

A  PILLAR  REMOVED 

.  166 

XIV. 

DEACON  AVEDI3         .           .           .          . 

.  173 

XV. 

DER   KEVORK    

.  179 

XVI. 

"THE  lord's   BEDROS".          . 

.  190 

CONTEKTS. 


xvir.  "thief  maghak  ". 

XVIII.  DIVERSE    GIFTS 

XIX.  GRACE   ABOUNDING  . 

XX.  PATIENT   SARKIS 

XXI.  THE   DESPAIRING   SILVERSMITH 

XXII.  THE   KOORDISH   MISSIONARY    . 

XXIir.  THE   LITTLE   SYKIAN   MAID 

XXIV.  MISS   M.    E.    WARFIELD 

XXV.  THE   MAN    WHO   MUST   PREACH 

XXVI.  OLD    SARAH       .... 

XXVII.  BEGO    THE    WIFE    OF    DONO 

XXVIII.  THE   AGED   AUCTIONEER  . 

XXIX.  PILGRIM   ANNA  .  .  . 


PAGE. 

.  202 
.  206 
.  215 
.  224 
.  234 
.  240 
.  247 
.  2.55 
.  262 
.  268 
.  274 
.  282 
.  304 


GEACE  ILLUSTEATED; 

OK, 

A  BOUQUET  FEOM  OUR  MISSIONARY  GARDEN. 


I. 
A  WORD  WITH  THE  READER. 

QINCE  the  enjoyment  of  a  book  by  both 
writer  and  reader  depends  much  upon 
their  mutual  good  understanding,  and  as 
the  aim  of  this  little  volume  is  liable 
to  be  misunderstood,  before  going  out  to 
gather  our  missionary  nosegay,  let  us  have  a 
plain,  frank  chat  about  it. 

Methinks  I  hear  you  asking,  "  Are  not 
you  the  same  pastor  whom  we  saw,  some 
twenty  years  ago,  selecting  a  library  for  his 


6  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

sabbatli  school,  and  casting  out  from  the 
hundred  volumes  before  him  more  than  a 
score  of  "  Memoirs  "  as  not  worth  the  labor 
of  examination  ?  And  didn't  this  same  little 
wife  of  yours  approve  the  deed?  And  do 
you  two  now  put  your  heads  and  pens 
together  to  impose  upon  the  long-suffering 
pubhc  a  score  or  more  of  memoirs  in  a  single 
volume ! " 

Yes,  we  are  the  same  couple,  and,  strange 
as  it  may  appear,  we're  of  the  same  opinion 
still ;  and  that  is  one  reason  why,  fearing 
that  our  little  book  may  fare  like  poor  Tray 
at  the  hands  of  other  selectors  of  sabbath- 
school  libraries,  we  propose  to  protect  it 
from  unsafe  company  by  a  different  name ; 
and  rightfully,  for  we  shall  aim  to  make  it  a 
different  thing. 

The  purpose  of  these  life  and  death 
sketches  is  not  at  all  to  immortalize  certain 
surprisingly  good  little  saints,  or  large  ones, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  7 

such  as  we  iised  to  read  about  in  our  child- 
hood, and  despairingly  wish  that  we  too 
might  have  been  born  such  angels.  For,  to 
tell  the  truth,  though  the  gospel  has  in  some 
cases  had  wonderful  power  in  subduing 
stubborn  hearts  here,  and  though  Jesus  has 
put  his  hands  upon  the  heads,  and  by  his 
grace  touched  the  hearts,  of  some  little  ones, 
yet  we  have  still  to  wait  for  the  first  saint, 
large  or  small  in  all  our  mission-field,  who 
could  equal  the  sample  in  most  of  those 
old-style  memoirs.  It  is  a  gratifying  though 
surprising  fact,  that,  in  more  modern  days, 
professedly  fictitious  religious  writers  have, 
while  printing  fiction  on  the  titlepage,  so 
far  removed  it  from  their  delineations  of  the 
Christian  life,  as  to  give  us  a  juster  portrait 
of  the  actually  existing  Christian  militant 
than  had  his  preceding  biographers.  Bio- 
graphical angel  wings  take  time  to  grow  now, 
and  are  not  made  to  order. 


8  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

We  may  as  well  confess  to  some  perplex- 
ing questionings  in  fixing  upon  a  name  for 
our  humble  messenger.  Nothing  high-sound- 
ing or  pretentious  will  do,  of  course :  so  we 
search  on  the  common  level.  "  Call  it 
'  Living  Stones,' "  says  one.  But  we  do  not 
feel  at  all  in  an  architectural  frame  of  mind. 
"  '  First-Fruits,'  then,  or  '  Sheaves,'  "  adds  a 
second ;  to  which  we  reply,  " '  Handfuls '  shall 
be  the  name,  if  any  thing  in  that  line ;  for 
the  sheaves  are  yet  to  come."  —  "  But  '  Bou- 
quet '  is  tame  and  commonplace." — "  Yes,  and 
truthful  and  comprehensive  too ;  for,  while 
it  hints  just  the  thing  we  wish  to  do,  it 
suggests,  also,  the  way  of  doing  it.'  We 
don't  propose  to  talk  of  missionary  policy, 
which  some  may  think  was  done  too  exclu- 
sively in  a  preceding  yolume,  nor  of  the 
missionary  work  in  any  form  as  seen  from  its 
human  side,  nor  even  to  speak  of  results  as 
such,  however  heart-cheering  this   employ- 


GEACE  ILLUSTKATED.  9 

ment  might  be,  but  only  to  take  a  quiet 
stroll  with  you,  if  you  will,  in  the  garden  of 
the  Lord,  plucking,  meanwhile,  here  and 
there  a  flower,  a  bud,  a  twig,  a  leaf,  a  blade 
of  grass,  as  pleasant  mementoes  of  our  visit. 
Wearied  and  harassed  by  the  toils  and 
anxieties  of  even  the  joyous  missionary 
work,  it  will  be  well  for  us  thus  to  turn  aside 
and  rest  a  while,  and  not  unpleasant  for  you 
to  join  in  contemplating  these  more  spiritual 
manifestations,  which,  though  but  incidental 
to  the  one  great  result  of  missions,  are  more 
potent  than  mere  material  effects  to  cheer 
and  sustain  the  followers  of  Christ  in  the 
hard  work  of  evangelism  which  they  have  to 
do.  As  our  bouquet  is  to  consist  of  natural 
flowers,  not  artificial,  or,  in  other  words,  as 
the  aim  of  these  sketches  is  to  give  the 
reader  a  view  of  their  subjects  just  as  we 
have  seen  or  are  seeing  them,  we  shall  try  to 
make  the  portraits  true  to  life,  even  when 


10  GBACB  ILLUSTRATED. 

disclosing  blemishes  we  would  gladly  conceal. 
We  shall  thus  gain  a  juster  conception  of 
the  character  of  the  missionary  work,  and 
be  able  more  intelligently  and  heartily  to 
glorify  the  grace  that  is  carrying  it  on,  when 
reminded  that  our  bouquet  was  gathered  not 
from  the  primitive  paradise,  but  from  one  as 
yet  but  partially  regained  and  restored. 


GEACE  ILLTJSTEATED.  11 


n. 

BLIND  JOHN   CONCORDANCE. 

TN  the  spring  of  1864,  when  our  theologi- 
-*-  cal  seminary  was  four  years  old,  and  the 
female  seminary  two,  two  equivocal  candi- 
dates knocked  at  their  doors,  —  a  blind  man 
and  his  wife  from  the  village  of  Mashkir,  on 
the  Euphrates,  some  thirty-five  miles  north- 
west from  Harpoot.  The  man,  Hohannes 
("John")  byname,  had  in  early  life,  like 
thousands  in  this  land,  lost  his  eyes  by  small- 
pox, and  then  paid,  if  possible,  a  heavier 
penalty  for  loss  of  sight  and  beauty  by  wed- 
ding such  a  wife  as  he  could  get. 

The  unfortunate  blind  man  —  or  "  Enlight- 
ened one,"  as  the  poetic  sympathy  of  the 
Orient  names  him  —  who  has  not  wealth  or 


12  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

high  reputation,  must  accept  a  wife  who  is 
at  the  same  discount  as  himself,  either  by 
loss  of  both  eyes,  or  of  one  eye  plus  partial 
want  of  beauty  and  brains,  or,  finally,  one 
who  has  two  eyes,  but  very  little  or  none  of 
the  last  two  accomplishments.  Unfortu- 
nately, Hohannes,  or  his  friends  for  him,  had 
only  supphed  his  most  sorely  felt  deficiency, 
by  taking  a  wife  with  eyes  only;  and  the 
result  was,  that  the  female-seminary  candi- 
date said  by  her  first  look,  "  To  be  sure,  I 
can't  learn  even  my  a,  5,  c's  ;  but  then  I  can 
attract  the  attention  of  all  by  my  Esqui- 
mau style  of  beauty."  Trial  had  proved 
her  truthful;  and  so  she  could  not  be  ad- 
mitted. 

And  what  should  we  say  to  the  other 
candidate  ?  "  Paradise  Lost "  and  the  "  Iliad  " 
witness,  indeed,  that  pre-eminent  ability 
may  exist  behind  sightless  eyeballs  ;  while 
Milton,  Socrates,  and,  for  aught  we  know, 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  13 

old  Homer  too,  combine  to  bid  us  beware 
of  rejecting,  without  further  examination,  a 
literary  aspirant  because  of  conjugal  infeli- 
cities. But,  then,  they  do  not  encourage 
us  to  hope  that  blind  men  tied  to  uncon- 
genial wives  will  be  hopeful  theological 
students.  Yet  Hohannes  was  admitted  to 
examination,  and,  like  Pope's  traditional 
toad,  turned  out  to  have,  beneath  his  far 
from  handsome  exterior,  a  very  "  precious 
jewel "  in  both  head  and  heart.  While  his 
wonderful  acquaintance  with  the  Bible  had 
won  for  him  in  his  native  village  the 
surname  of  Hamapapar  ("  Concordance  "), 
subsequent  events  showed  him  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  an  innate  power  of  using  his 
acquired  gift,  which,  in  spite  of  all  his  dis- 
abilities, made  him  surely  the  most  gainful 
candidate  to  the  cause  who  ever  spent  two 
years  in  Harpoot  Seminary,  or  perhaps  any 
other,  even  if  it  does  not  justify  "  The  New 


14  GRACE  ILLTJSTRATED. 

York  Independent "  in  saying,  that  "  perhaps 
no  man  of  the  age  has  done  a  more  impor- 
tant work  than  blind  Hohannes." 

Surely,  at  least,  that  brother  missionary 
stands  rebuked,  who,  alluding  to  our  receiv- 
ing him  to  the  theological,  and  "  Kohar"  to 
the  female  seminary,  taunted  us  with  "  re- 
ceiving the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  blind  to 
our  schools,  because,"  as  he  said,  "  they  are 
cheaper ;  "  which  reason  is  so  far  from  being 
true,  that  blind  students  cost  us  more  than 
others ;  and  this  one,  at  least,  was  worth  many 
times  what  it  cost  to  train  him,  and  support 
him  in  the  work.  He  left  the  seminary  in 
October,  1865,  and  died  in  March,  1869  ;  yet 
in  that  brief  time  he  made  for  himself  a 
name  both  in  this  and  other  lands,  which  will 
not  soon  die.  But  we  have  promised  to  be 
strictly  truthful  in  painting  our  characters, 
and  may  as  well  confess  here,  that,  stored  as 
head  and  heart  were  with  the  word  of  truth 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  15 

which  sanctifies  the  soul,  he  was  yet  appar- 
ently a  good  way  from  attaining  complete 
sanctification.  His  wife  complained  that  he 
didn't  love  her  as  well  as  he  should,  and 
died  —  was  it  from  a  broken  heart?  —  not 
long  after  he  entered  the  seminary.  We  are 
quite  sure,  however,  that  if  the  philosophic 
theory  were  true,  which  subjects  the  affections 
to  the  will,  the  poor  man  would  have  been 
less  faulty  here.  But  he  was  by  no  means 
the  exemplary  student  we  wished  to  see  him, 
since  he  expected,  and  rather  demanded,  as  a 
condition  of  obedience  to  the  few  necessary 
rules  of  the  seminary,  that  we  should  imitate 
his  habit  in  dealing  with  those  whom  he 
sought  to  win  to  the  truth,  and  "  satisfy  his 
conscience  "  by  giving  chapter  and  verse  to 
justify  each  requirement.  I  have  sometimes 
imagined  that  there  is  something  in  the  loss 
of  the  eyes  which  makes  one  unreasonably 
exacting.     Perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  the 


16  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

scriptural  declaration  in  regard  to  bestowing 
more  abundant  honor  on  those  members 
which  lack,  and  so  felt  that  he  had  a  biblical 
claim  to  be  petted. 

He,  at  least,  put  in  his  claim  as  a  blind  man 
to  be  excused  from  compliance  even  with 
such  rules  as  he  could  find  no  chapter  and 
verse  to  inyalidate.  Annoyed  by  the  fumes 
of  new,  and  the  stench  of  old  tobacco-smoke 
elsewhere,  we  resolved  to  enjoy  exemption 
from  it  on  the  theological  premises  ;  but  "  of 
course  the  rule  didn't  apply  to  a  man  with- 
out eyes."  This  notion,  that  no  rules 
applied  to  him,  was  indulged  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  lead,  at  length,  to  a  crisis,  and  a 
somewhat  ludicrous  exorcism  of  the  trouble- 
some spirit. 

Near  by  the  door  of  the  theological  semi- 
nary was  that  of  the  female-seminary  harem, 
over  which  all  Oriental  customs  and  j)reju- 
dices,  as  well  as  our  own  promise  to  parents 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  17 

to  leave  to  tlie^n  their  daughters'  matrimonial 
arrangements,  compelled  us  to  write,  "  Taboo 
to  lovers  and  love-letters."  Hohannes' 
inability  to  love  satisfactorily  her  who  had 
died  did  not  prevent  him  from  being 
insnared  by  the  sweet  tones  of  the  assistant 
teacher,  into  whose  hands,  by  lying  in  wait 
at  the  forbidden  door,  he  one  day  succeeded 
in  sKpping,  not  the  usual  romantic  nonsense, 
but  a  plain,  outspoken  epistle  on  the  business 
in  hand ;  and,  having  done  this,  he  waited 
somewhat  impatiently  for  the  expected  repl}'-, 
little  suspecting  that  she,  as  in  duty  bound, 
had  handed  the  letter  unread  to  her  supe- 
riors. So  when,  a  few  days  later,  the 
students  were  sent  forth,  two  and  two,  for  a 
brief  vacation  preaching-tour,  and  Hohan- 
nes' name  was  not  read  with  the  rest,  to  his 
prompt  inquiry,  "  And  where  shall  I  go  ?  " 
came  the  reply,  "  You,  brother,  can  stay  here, 
and  attend  to  your  matrimonial  affairs." 

2 


18  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

The  Harpoot  parsonage  was  then  in  build- 
ing, and  a  man  needed  to  sift  dirt  for  mortar : 
so  when  Hohannes  added,  "  But  how  shall  I 
earn  my  bread  ?  "  we  replied,  "  If  you  feel 
penitent  enough  over  that  love-letter,  we 
suggest  that  you  do  it  by  sitting  in  dust  and 
ashes,  and  using  that  sieve."  He  did  it ;  but 
the  joke  leaked  out,  and  from  that  day  to 
this  there  have  been  no  more  liers-in-wait  at 
the  tabooed  door. 

During  his  "  short  course  "  of  two  years, 
Hohannes  made  more  than  average  progress 
in  his  studies,  which  were,  exegesis  of  Scrip- 
ture, theology,  and  preaching,  and  graduated 
with  his  class  in  1865.  He  had  meanwhile 
manifested  much  shrewdness  and  enthusiasm 
in  evangelistic  labor  in  the  vicinity,  fre- 
quently succeeding,  partly  from  the  fact  of 
his  blindness,  but  mostly  from  his  natural 
sagacity,  in  gaining  access  to  Armenian 
churches.       He    was     specially    skillful    in 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  19 

silencing  opponents,  chiefly  by  a  ready  and 
dexterous  use  of  Scripture,  but  often  by  an 
adroit  turning  of  his  antagonist's  weapons 
against  himself.  A  single  incident  will 
illustrate  this  latter  trait.  The  priest  of  a 
certain  village  frequently  visited  by  the 
students  had  a  trick  of  asking  them  whether 
they  had  studied  a  certain  branch  of  knowl- 
edge, of  which  he  was,  doubtless,  even  more 
ignorant  than  most  of  them,  and  then,  on 
their  confessing  that  they  had  not,  turn- 
ing to  the  people,  who  knew  not  even  the 
name  of  the  wonderful  study,  with  the 
triumphant  inquiry  whether  a  man  so  igno- 
rant as  that  was  fit  to  preach  the  gospel. 
When  several  unfortunate  theologues  had  in 
this  way  been  worsted,  Hohannes  started  for 
the  place,  declaring  that  he  would  silence 
the  wily  priest.  So,  having  committed'  to 
memory  a  long  list  of  authors  who  have 
treated  on  the  old  man's  favorite  study,  he 


20  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

replied  to  the  usual  question  by  glibly 
rattling  off  those  authors'  names,  and  inquir- 
ing to  which  of  them  he  referred.  It  was 
now  the  priest's  turn  to  bear  the  laugh  ;  and 
he  never  again  dared  attack  a  Protestant 
preacher. 

Hohannes'  blindness,  of  course,  caused 
him  much  inconvenience  in  getting  about, 
sometimes  even  when  he  had  companions. 
Once,  in  a  hilly  region,  his  two  fellow-travel- 
ers left  him  for  a  moment,  going  in  different 
directions  to  decide  on  the  correct  road,  and, 
on  their  return,  could  find  no  Hohannes,  but 
at  length  tracked  his  mule  down  a  very  steep 
hillside,  into  a  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of  which, 
on  one  side  they  discovered  the  animal,  and 
on  the  other  his  master.  When  left  alone, 
the  mule,  with  something  of  his  rider's 
originality  of  purpose,  decided  to  choose  a 
path  for  himself,  and,  spite  of  all  his  opposi- 
sition,  had  carried  him   off.     Finding  that 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  21 

the  beast  was  taking  him  down  such  a  road, 
and  resolved  not  to  be  lost,  even  if  the  mule 
was,  he  had  shpped  off  to  wait  the  issue  of 
events. 

But,  in  spite  of  obstacles,  his  zeal  and 
energy  carried  him  on,  resolved  to  accom- 
phsh  feats  of  travel  and  evangelism  deemed 
difficult  even  for  men  with  eyes.  Among 
other  things,  learning  of  the  darkened  con- 
dition of  the  Armenians  in  Russia,  he  re- 
solved, at  all  risks,  to  visit  and  supply  them 
with  portions  of  the  Scriptures.  So  he 
ordered  a  box  made  of  thick  boards,  so 
hollowed  out  by  mortising,  that  he  might  fill 
the  cavities  with  very  thin  copies  of  the 
separate  Gospels,  and  thus  take  them,  undis- 
covered, across  the  border.  But  by  our 
advice  this  plan  was  given  up  ;  and,  shortly 
after  graduation,  he  went  to  Shepik,  a 
wretched  little  village  of  some  forty  houses, 
about  fifty  miles  north-west  from  Harpoot, 


22  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

in  wliich  was  a  church  whose  pastor's  lack 
of  energy  had  put  to  sleep  that  small  part 
of  the  people  who  adhered  to  him,  and  so 
deprived  himself  of  all  support. 

When  he  aj^pealed  to  the  Evangelical 
Union  for  aid,  they  advised  him  to  leave  for 
a  time,  and  go  to  a  hostile  village  and  get 
roused  up,  and  invite  Hohannes  to  come  and 
wake  up  his  people.  He  went ;  and,  when 
the  people  met  him  with  lamentations  over 
poor  crops  and  poverty,  he  bade  them  begin 
their  lamentations  at  another  place,  and 
remove  the  cause  by  repaying  God  that  of 
which  they  had  robbed  him.  Then  taking 
for  his  text,  "  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the 
storehouse,"  &c.  (Mai.  iii.  10),  he  enforced 
the  duty  of  paying  into  the  Lord's  treasury 
one-tenth  of  all  their  earnings. 

His  sermon  we  reserve  to  be  reported  as 
subsequently  preached  in  the  Harpoot  pulpit ; 
but  its  immediate  fruit   in  Shepik  was  re- 


GRACE  ILLTJSTRATED.  23 

marliable.^  The  pastor  was  called  back  to 
find  a  different  church  from  the  one  he  left. 
Would  that  as  great  a  change  might  have 
been  wrought  in  his  good  but  sluggish 
nature!  But  Hohannes'  work  went  on. 
The  little  mustard-seed,  thus  sowed  in  this 
insignificant  village,  soon  became  a  tree  of 
so  wide-spreading  branches,  that  multitudes 
of  churches  and  communities  in  this  and 
other  lands  rested  under  the  shade,  and  par- 
took of  the  fruit  of  it.  In  the  hard  struggle 
to  lead  the  people  out  of  the  Egyptian 
bondage  of  dependence  on  foreign  aid,  and 
introduce  self-support,  and  consequent  inde- 
pendence, among  the  churches,  we  mission- 
aries had  apparently  reached  a  Red  Sea, 
through  which  God  only  could  open  a  way 
to  go  forward;  and  by  the  hand  of  this 
humble   man  he   did  it,  and  we  were  soon 

*  Those  wishing  to  do  so  can  find  the  particulars  in 
chap.  X.  of  "Ten  Yeaxa  on  the  Euphrates." 


24  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

singing  songs  of  deliverance  on  the  other 
side  of  the  flood.  We  have  not,  indeed,  yet 
crossed  the  Jordan,  and  begin  to  fear  that 
our  sins  may  deprive  some  of  us  of  the 
privilege  of  leading  the  people  into  the 
goodly  land  by  completing  in  our  field 
the  work  to  be  done  here  by  the  American 
churches.  This  is  not  the  place  to  go  into 
particulars  of  results  of  the  tithing  move- 
ment, the  good  fruits  of  which  are  increas- 
ing with  the  advance  of  time.  While  no 
attempt  is  made  to  constrain  persons,  church- 
members  or  others,  to  pay  tithes,  yet  the 
feeling  is  becoming  more  and  more  wide- 
spread, that  while  the  giving  of  this  exact 
proportion  of  income  is  not  divinely  fixed  as 
an  invariable  rule  for  all,  and  while  each 
person  may  decide  for  himself  to  what 
special  department  of  Christian  expenditure 
he  will  appropriate  his  tithes,  yet  the  system 
offers    the    simplest    and    most    practicable 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  25 

method  of  providing  for  evangelistic  ex- 
pense, and  is  at  the  same  time  most  beneficial 
spiritually  to  the  contributor.  Though  the 
sermon  of  Hohannes,  as  reported  by  Miss 
West  for  "The  Missionary  Herald,"  of 
October,  1868,  has  been  scattered  by  tens 
of  thousands  of  copies  over  England  and 
America,  it  may  profitably  find  a  place  here. 
We  give,  of  course,  only  a  brief  abstract. 
Blind  men  don't  write  their  sermons,  nor 
even  preach  from  notes.  Miss  West  says, 
"  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  for  yourself 
how  interested  the  people  were  in  the  dis- 
course. The  blindness  of  the  preacher  added 
to  the  interest.  Saying,  '  We  will  read '  such 
a  '  chapter '  or  '  hymn,'  he  would  repeat  the 
same^  word  for  word.  When  he  called  upon 
the  people  to  read,  it  was  for  their  sake 
rather  than  his  own ;  and,  when  the  reader 
had  reached  just  the  point  he  desired,  he 
never  failed  to  say, '  Stop,'  that  he  might  take 
it  up  just  there. 


26  GtlACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

"  He  began  by  repeating  that  striking  pas- 
sage, '  Will  a  man  rob  God  ?  Yet  ye  have 
robbed  me.  But  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we 
robbed  thee?  In  tithes  and  offerings,'  &c. 
(Mai.  iii.  8-10.)  He  then,  in  few  words, 
told  us  that  he  proposed  to  show  from  the 
word  of  God  that  giving  a  tenth  to  the 
Lord  was  a  primitive  institution,  attended 
with  great  benefits  and  blessings  to  the 
givers,  and  perpetuated  and  enforced  under 
the  new  dispensation  no  less  than  the  old. 
'  Open  your  Bibles,'  said  he, '  at  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  Genesis,  and  let  some  one  read 
the  eighteenth  and  twentieth  verses.'  Bibles 
were  instantly  opened  all  over  the  house,  and 
the  passage  read  in  clear  tones  by  one  of 
the  congregation.  '  Abraham  gave  tithes  to 
Melchizedek,'  said  the  preacher,  '  more  than 
four  hundred  years  before  the  giving  of  the 
law  to  Moses,  —  Abraham,  "the  father  of 
the  faithful,"  whose  children  the  Jews  glory 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  27 

in  being,  —  Abraham,  whom  even  Moslems 
honor,  and  call  "  the  blessed."  Now  turn 
to  the  twenty-eighth  chapter,  and  read  the 
twentieth,  twenty-first  and  twenty-second 
verses.'  Jacob's  vow  was  read,  concluding 
with  the  words,  '  And  of  all  that  thou  shalt 
give  me,  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto 
thee.'  He  then  rapidly  drew  the  contrast  be- 
tween Jacob's  going  to  Padan-aram,  —  alone, 
and  in  utter  destitution,  —  and  the  return^ 
with  his  flocks  and  herds,  and  camels,  men- 
servants  and  maid-servants  ;  for,  in  spite  of 
Laban's  covetousness,  the  man  had  increased 
greatly.  '  And  now,'  he  said,  '  open  at  the 
twenty-seventh  of  Leviticus,  and  read  the 
thirtieth  verse.  "And  all  the  tithe  of  the 
land  is  the  Lord's^'''' '  repeated  the  preacher. 
*  Nine-tenths  for  yourselves ;  but  one-tenth 
"is  holy  unto  the  Lord."  Open  at  Numbers 
eighteenth,  and  read  the  twentieth,  twenty- 
first,     twenty -sixth,     twenty -eighth      and 


28  GEACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

twenty-nintli  verses.'  This  was  done  ;  and 
then  Hohannes  briefly  commented  on  each 
verse.  He  said  the  Levites,  who  ministered  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  were  to  have  no  part  or 
inheritance  in  the  land  ;  for  the  titlies  of  the 
people  were  to  be  their  inheritance ;  and  of 
these  tithes  they  were  to  offer  a  tenth  to  the 
Lord,  '  even  of  all  the  hest  thereof.'  '  Read 
Deut.  xiv.  22,  and  xxvi.  12.  See  the  abun- 
dant provision  made,  not  only  for  the  Levites, 
but  also  for  the  "  stranger,  the  fatherless, 
and  the  widow."  Read,  also,  2  Chron.  xxxi. 
4-10,  where  the  people  are  described  as 
obeying  the  command  of  God,  and  bring- 
ing in  "abundantly"  of  the  "increase  of 
the  land."  And  the  chief  priest  answered 
King  Hezekiah,  when  he  questioned  him 
concerning  the  "  Aeops:"  "  Since  the  people 
began  to  bring  the  offerings  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  we  have  had  enough  to  eat,  and 
have  left  plenty ;  for  the  Lord  hath  blessed  his 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  29 

people;  and  that  which  is  left  is  this  great 
store."  Now  read  Neh.  xiii.  10,  13,  and  14. 
Mark  the  contrast !  The  people  no  longer 
gave  tithes :  the  house  of  the  Lord  was 
desecrated;  and  the  Levites  had  forsaken 
their  sacred  office,  and  '■'■fled^  every  one  to  his 

01V71  FIELD." 

"  '  And  now,'  continued  the  preacher,  '  we 
will  turn  to  the  new  dispensation.  Open  at 
the  twenty-third  of  Matthew,  and  read  the 
twenty-third  verse :  "  These  ouglit  ye  to  have 
done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone,"  are 
our  blessed  Saviour's  words  to  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees.  Ye  do  well  to  pay  tithes: 
it  is  your  duty.  But  ye  ought  also  to  do 
judgment,  mercy  and  faith.  Now  turn  to 
Luke  xi.  42  :  "  Woe  unto  you  Pharisees  !  for 
ye  tithe  ...  all  manner  of  herbs,  and  pass 
over  judgment  and  the  love  of  God  :  these 
ought  ye  to  have  done^  and  not  to  leave  the 
other  undone."   Read  Luke  iii.  7-12:  "  Bring 


so  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

forth  fruits  worthy  of  repentance^'''' '  repeated 
the  preacher.  '  John  the  Baptist  was  a 
connecting  link  between  the  Jewish  and  the 
gospel  dispensations  ;  and  he  spake  as  he  was 
moved  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  "  Now,  also,  the 
ax  is  laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree."  What 
tree  ?  It  was  nothing  less  than  the  tree  — 
the  root  —  of  self  and  selfishness. 

"  '  What  this  good  fruit  is  he  tells  us  in  the 
eleventh  verse :  "  He  that  hath  two  coats, 
let  him  impart  to  him  that  hath  none  ;  and 
he  that  hath  meat  [food],  let  him  do  like- 
wise." Where,  now,  remains  the  tenth?'  he 
exclaimed.  '  Under  the  new  dispensation, 
not  one-tentJi  merely,  but  one-HALF,  is  re- 
quired.' (At  this  announcement,  there  was 
an  evident  sensation  in  the  audience,  many  a 
face  lighting  up  with  a  smile,  as  the  electric 
current  shot  through  the  assembly.) 

"  The  preacher  continued,  '  Read  now  the 
sixth  of   Luke,  thirty-eighth   verse :  "  Give, 


GEACE  rLLUSTRATED.  31 

and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you."  G-ive.  and 
you  shall  have  wherewith  to  give.  Shut  /our 
hand  and  your  heart,  and  you  shut  the 
windows  of  heaven ;  you  keep  back  the 
blessing  of  God.  See  what  Christ  saj  3  in 
Luke  xii.  33  :  "  Sell  that  ye  have,  and  ,dve 
alms,"  &c.,  which  means,  consider  }  »ur- 
selves  as  steivards  of  God's  grace  ok  the 
earth,  seeking  your  inheritance  in  the  'w  jrld 
to  come.  You  are  to  set  light  store  by  ^  our 
earthly  possessions,  and  lay  up  treasui  d  in 
heaven.  Now  read  Luke  xiv.  33.'  Slnwly 
and  solemnly  the  preacher  repeated  the 
words  of  the  Master:  '"So,  likewise,  who 
soever  he  be  of  you  that  forsaJceth  not  ALL 
that  he  hath,  he  CAK  NOT  be  my  disciple.' 
Ah,  my  brethren,'  said  he,  '  it  is  not  merely 
a  tenth,  or  even  a  half,  of  our  worldly  pos- 
sessions, that  Christ  claims:  it  is  our  all! 
Think  upon  the  meaning  of  those  words. 
It  is  thus  he  speaks  to  you:    If  you  wish 


32  GEACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

to  be  my  disciple,  you  must  count  the  cost. 
You  can  not  serve  two  masters.  You  must 
give  up  every  thing  that  the  children  of  this 
world  seek  after.  You  must  hold  yourselves 
aloof  from  jonv  earthly  possessions '  [such 
is  the  Armenian  version  of  Luke  xiv.  33], 
'  holding  to  them  loosely,  setting  your  affec- 
tions on  things  above.  Your  comfort,  pleas- 
ure, honor,  ease,  yea,  your  ver^  life,  you 
must  esteem  as  nothing  in  comparison  with 
my  service.  And  in  thus  losing  all,  you  will 
find  all,  and  that  for  ever. 

"  '  Open  your  Bibles  at  Matt.  xix.  29,  and 
Mark  x.  29,  and  read  the  glorious  promise  to 
those  who  truly  '■'' forsake  all "  for  Christ  and 
his  cause.  See  !  '  exclaimed  Hohannes,  after 
solemnly  repeating  the  passage,  — '  see  how 
rich  the  reward!  a  hundred-fold  in  this  life, 
and  Ife  everlasting  beside  !  Now  open  at  Luke 
nineteenth,  and  read  from  the  second  to  the 
tenth  verse.     Note  the  words  of   Zaccheus, 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  83 

"  The  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor," 
and  mark  the  answer  of  our  Saviour.  But 
what  say  you  ?  Is  salvation  to  be  houglit 
with  money?  We  all  know  that  it  is  "  with- 
out money,  without  price."  Why,  then,  this 
blessing  upon  Zaccheus  ?  '  — '  Because,'  an- 
swered one  of  the  congregation,  '  the  giving 
was  the  fruit  of  his  faith.''  — 'Yes,'  rejoined 
the  preacher,  '  Zaccheus  brought  forth  fruit 
worthy  of  true  repentance,  and  immediately 
received  the  promised  blessing. 

" '  Now  let  me  tell  you  a  story.  When  I 
was  in  the  class  in  sermonizing,  in  the  semi- 
nary, our  teacher  was  very  anxious  that  we 
who  were  soon  to  go  forth  as  preachers,  and 
perhaps  become  pastors,  should  work  upon 
right  principles ;  and  he  often  talked  to  us 
of  our  duty  as  leaders  to  teach  the  people  to 
do  for  themselves.  He  sometimes  told  us 
of  places  where  much  money  (of  the  Board) 
had  been  expended  by  missionaries,  and  but 


34  GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

little  real  good  accomplished,  because  the 
people  had  not  been  taught  to  give  for 
Christ's  cause.  "  In  one  little  village,"  he 
said,  "  forty  thousand  piasters"  [sixteen  hun- 
dred dollars]  "  of  the  Board's  money  was 
spent ;  the  people  only  giving  fifty  piasters 
during  thirteen  years.  And  the  work  in 
that  place  amounts  to  nothing  to-day,  be- 
cause of  this  unwise  course."  It  so  iiappened, 
that,  when  my  course  of  study  was  finished, 
I  was  appointed  to  that  village.  It  was  the 
last  place  I  should  have  chosen.  I  had  no 
desire  to  go  to  that  field ;  but  God  had  so 
ordered,  and  I  went.  The  missionaries  told 
me  that  my  wages  would  be  fifteen  hundred 
piasters  per  year,  of  which  the  people  were 
to  pay  six  hundred ;  and,  before  I  left,  one 
of  them  took  me  aside,  and  counseled  me  to 
make  it  as  easy  for  the  people  as  possible,  by 
eating  at  their  houses,  &c.,  because  it  would 
come  hard  to  them  at  first  to  do  so  much. 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  35 

"  '  Soon  after  I  went  there,  a  neighboring 
pastor  came  over  to  the  village,  and  we  held 
a  meeting  with  the  brethren.  We  talked 
about  my  support ;  and  it  seemed  that  they 
had,  with  much  difficulty,  subscribed  five 
hundred  piasters  per  year.  I  told  them 
the  missionaries  had  said  they  would  pay 
six  hundred.  '•'■  Never ! '^  they  exclaimed. 
*'  We  cannot  raise  another  para  "  [one-for- 
tieth of  a  piaster] .     And  pastor  M said 

it  was  impossible ;  they  were  too  poor. 
"Where,  then,  shall  I  get  my  other  hun- 
dred?" I  asked.  "  We  will  help  you  from 
our  place,"  he  replied. 

" '  But  my  mind  was  not  at  rest.  That 
night  I  thought  much  on  the  subject.  I 
said  to  myself,  "  Suppose  the  American 
Board  should  one  day  withdraw  its  support 
from  this  and  other  feeble  churches,  what 
will  become  of  them  ?  "  And  I  prayed,  "  O 
thou  who    knowest    all  things,   and    with 


36  GKACE   ILLUSTKATED. 

whom  are  all  plans,  sliow  thy  ignorant  ser- 
vant how  thy  kingdom  can  best  be  estab- 
lished in  this  land."  And  it  seemed  to  me 
that  a  voice  said  in  my  soul,  "  It  can  be 
done  by  giving  one  in  every  ten^  When  I 
thought  it  over,  it  occurred  to  me  to  test 
it  first  in  my  own  case.  One-tenth  of  my 
fifteen  hundred  per  year  would  be  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  piasters.  "  No,"  I  said,  "  I 
can't  give  so  much  as  that :  I  should  suffer 
for  it."  But,  when  I  took  it  out  of  every 
month's  salary,  it  did  not  seem  so  much. 
"  One-tenth  of  my  one  hundred  twenty  five 
will  be  twelve  piasters  and  a  half.  /  can  do 
it,^^  I  said,  "  and  I  will,  even  if  I  do  have 
to  pinch  a  Httle."     It  happened  that  pastor 

visited  us  about  that  time,  and  I  laid 

the  subject  before  him.  "  It  can  be  done," 
he  said ;  "  and  it  must  be.  I  will  give  a 
tenth  of  my  salary."  And  so  said  preacher 
,  who  also  came  over.     "  Well,  then," 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  37 

I  said,  "  do  you  think  it  will  do  for  me  to 
lay  it  before  the  brethren  ?  "  —  "  Yes,"  they 
replied :  "  it  is  the  best  thing  you  can  do." 

"  '  So  I  prepared  myself,  and  preached  to 
the  people  on  the  next  sabbath.  The  Lord 
blessed  his  own  word.  They  accepted  it, 
and  came  together  to  be  "  written  "  for  their 
tithes.  When  we  made  a  rough  estimate, 
it  appeared  that  their  tenths  would  exceed 
my  entire  salary.  "  Why,  how  is  this  ?  " 
they  all  said.  "It  was  so  hard  before! 
but  now  it  comes  very  easy,  and  it  is  truly 
pleasant." 

"  '  Now,  to  show  you  how  God  blessed  that 
little  flock,  I  will  mention  one  case.  One 
brother  had  a  vegetable-garden,  which  the 
Turkish  official,  in  assessing  the  tax,  had 
estimated  at  nine  hundred  piasters  for  that 
year's  produce,  taxing  him  ninety  piasters. 
Others  said  it  was  too  much  :  it  would  not 
produce  that  amount.     But  mark  the  fulfill- 


38  GRACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

ment  of  the  promise  in  Mai.  iii.  10.  That 
brother  sold  three  thousand  piasters'  worth 
of  vegetables  from  that  garden,  besides  what 
was  eaten  by  a  household  of  thirty-two  per- 
sons, and  given  away  ;  amounting  to  full  three 
thousand  more.  Others  were  also  blessed ; 
and  all  acknowledged  that  they  had  never 
known  a  year  of  such  prosperity.  The  peo- 
ple not  only  supported  their  preacher  and 
school-teacher,  but  also  paid  over  two  thou- 
sand piasters  for  other  purposes. 

"  The  preacher  was  about  to  close  his  dis- 
course, when  a  member  of  the  congrega- 
tion arose,  and  asked  permission  to  say  a 
few  words.  '  I  have  learned,'  he  said, 
'from  one  of  the  missionaries  another 
truth,  which  has  great  weight  in  this  giving 
of  one-tenth  of  our  income  to  the  Lord. 
Under  the  old  dispensation,  the  Jews  were 
only  required  to  care  for  their  own  nation ; 
but,  under  the  new  dispensation,  the  com- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  39 

mand  is,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preacli  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  There- 
fore a  tenth  is  not  enough  for  Christians  to 
give. 

"  To  this,  the  teacher  responded,  '  A  tenth 
is  the  very  least  that  a  disciple  of  Christ 
can  give.  Over  and  above  that,  he  should 
give  as  God  prospers  him.  And  now,'  he 
added,  '  let  us  seek  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  we,  and  all  our  offerings,  may 
find  acceptance  before  God.' " 

To  this  report,  Miss  "West  adds,  "It  is 
difficult  to  do  justice  to  a  scene  and  a  ser- 
mon so  unique.  When  that  sightless  man 
was  led  up  into  the  pulpit,  his  appearance 
was  any  thing  but  attractive.  He  looked 
rough,  and  uncared-for,  quite  inferior  in 
person.  But  he  had  a  message  from  the 
Lord  of  hosts;  and  well  did  he  deliver  it, 
reminding  one  of  the  words,  'God  hath 
chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  con- 


40  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

found  the  things  which  are  mighty ;  and 
base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which 
are  despised,  hath  God  chosen,'  &c.  It  was 
worth  much  to  see  and  hear  one  who  had 
been  so  evidently  taught  of  the  Sjmit,  and 
made  the  honored  instrument  of  laying  a 
new  foundation-stone  for  the  building  of 
Christ's  church  throughout  the  world.  For 
the  new  ray  of  light  that  dawned  in  that 
obscure  village  of  Armenia  two  years  since 
has  begun  to  radiate  from  many  distant 
points  ;  and  we  believe  that  it  will  solve  the 
problem  of  the  support  of  Christian  institu- 
tions in  all  lands,  and  hasten  the  day  when 
the  earth  shall  be  tilled  with  the  glory  of 
God.  Well  may  every  worker  in  foreign 
lands  say  with  Jesus,  '  I  thank  thee,  O 
Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  because 
thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  prudent,  and  revealed  them  unto  babes. 
Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in 
thy  sight.' " 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  41 

With  his  restless  longing  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  regions  beyond,  Hohannes  had  re- 
solved to  go  to  Moosh  Plain,  a  week's  jour- 
ney east  of  Harpoot,  of  the  ignorant  and 
wretched  condition  of  the  Armenian  inhabit- 
ants of  which  he  had  heard  from  missiona- 
ries and  native  pastors  who  had  visited  it 
the  year  before  ;  and,  at  the  date  of  preach- 
ing this  sermon  (May  3,  1868),  he,  with 
another  missionary  volunteer  like  himself, 
was  on  his  way  thither. 

Reaching  the  place,  his  companion,  now 
Pastor  Garabed  of  Haboosie,  was  located 
in  the  city  of  Moosh ;  but  Hohannes  went 
to  what  we  may  hope  was  the  most  wretched 
spot  of  that  pre-eminently  wretched  dis- 
trict, the  village  of  *Havadoric.  Mr.  Cole 
of  Erzroom,  who  visited  the  place  in  1872, 
thus  writes  of  it:  "It  is  a  village  of  some 
fifty  houses,  situated  half  a  mile  up  a  steep 
mountain-side,  where  it  overlooks   most  of 


42  GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

tlie  great  Moosh  Plain.  We  saw  tokens 
of  abject  poverty  in  the  whole  region, 
but  in  this  village  more  than  all.  We 
visited  the  people  at  their  homes ;  and 
such  dingy,  dirty,  dark  abodes  for  human 
beings,  I  have  never  seen  in  Turkey.  In 
all  the  village  were  only  two  guest-rooms, 
—  raised  places  in  the  corner  of  a  stable, 
inclosed  by  a  low  mud-wall,  to  separate 
guests  from  the  cattle.  Others  have  nothing 
but  the  poorest  kind  of  '■  doon^  a  sort  of 
sheep-pen  affair,  windowless,  with  only  a 
hole  in  the  top  to  let  the  smoke  out.  And 
in  these  hovels,  such  poverty !  As  to  cloth- 
ing, I  should  say  there  was  nothing  you 
could  dignify  by  that  title,  —  mere  tattered 
rags  hanging  from  shivering  forms.  As 
cold  weather  comes  on,  many  of  the  children 
must'  stay  in  doors  to  keep  from  freezing. 
At  night,  when  you  and  I  lie  down  in  our 
soft,  warm  beds,  think  of  their  lying  down 


GEACE  ILLUSTKATED.  43 

upon  the   cold,   hard  ground,   with   a  few 
squalid  rags  for  their  bed  of  down." 

Of  the  Moosh  Plain  itself,  Mr.  H.  N.  Bar- 
num,  who  visited  it  in  1867,  wrote,  "  This 
plain  is  about  sixty  miles  long,  and  ten  or 
twelve  wide,  and  contains  about  seventy 
nominally  Christian  villages.  More  than  a 
week  were  we  detained ;  and  I  question 
whether  Providence  did  not  detain  us  that 
we  might  see  and  feel  more  deeply  the 
wants  of  that  region.  It  was  now  genuine 
winter  weather  ;  yet  I  think  I  never  saw 
anywhere  else,  not  even  in  the  warm  sun- 
shine of  Egypt,  so  much  nakedness,  total  or 
partial.  Adults,  of  course,  had  the  sem- 
blance of  clothing,  though  it  was  often  a 
mass  of  rags  and  shreds  sewed  or  tied 
together.  But  the  poor  children  !  It  makes 
my  heart  ache  to  think  of  them.  Some  had  a 
tolerably  whole  shirt  and  drawers ;  and  some 
had  no  drawers,  and  what  was  once  a  shirt 


44  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

was  now  a  few  shreds  hanging  from  the 
shoulders.  Many  had  only  a  rag  on  the 
shoulders,  as  a  sort  of  jacket,  with  holes  to 
jDut  the  arms  through ;  and  others  had  not 
a  thread  upon  their  bodies.  The  people 
seem  to  be  almost  wholly  destitute  of  beds. 
Wherever  we  went,  we  found  that  the  beds 
were  a  piece  of  carpet,  or  felt,  or  coarse 
straw-matting,  or  a  little  straw,  with  a  piece 
of  carpet  as  a  covering.  In  six  or  seven 
villages  which  we  visited,  we  did  not  notice 
a  woman  or  a  child  who  had  either  stock- 
ings or  shoes  for  the  feet.  They  walked 
about  in  the  snow  and  mud,  and  over  the 
frozen  ground,  with  bare  feet.  Our  pastors 
had  never  seen  destitution  like  this,  and  it 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  them.  And 
the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people  is  as 
bad  as  the  physical.  In  the  three  or  four 
monasteries  surrounding  the  plain,  there  are 
said  to  be  fifty  vartabeds,  men  of  more  or 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  45 

less  education.  What  a  work  they  might 
do  in  these  seventy  villages,  in  improving 
the  condition  of  the  people,  if  they  only 
had  the  heart  for  it !  But  they  are  in  a 
great  measure  responsible  for  this  state 
of  things.  They  come  down  periodically 
from  their  haunts  of  dissipation,  and  gather 
up  and  carry  off  whatever  the  people  can 
spare ;  and  this  has  helped  to  discourage 
the  people,  and  repress  enterprise.  Tlie 
great  want  notv  is  the  pure  gospel.  This  will 
not  only  save  their  souls,  it  will  give  them 
true  civilization  and  refinement.  To  us 
the  people  seemed  ripe  for  the  reception 
of  the  truth.  They  are  growing  tired  of 
the  yoke,  and  are  beginning  to  murmur 
against  it.  The  pastors  turned  away  from 
Moosh  Plain  with  the  determination  to  in- 
duce the  Harpoot  Evangelical  Union,  if 
consistent  with  the  work  undertaken  in 
Koordistan,  to  do  something  for  the  Moosh 


46  GEACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

district.  May  the  Lord  strengthen  them 
for  it !  "  If  Mr.  Barnum's  pen,  by  a  more 
vivid  picturing  of  the  poverty  and  degrada- 
tion of  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain  below, 
seems  to  dispute  the  pre-eminence  in  wretch- 
edness of  Havadoric,  we  must  remember 
that  Mr.  Barnum  spent  a  cheerless,  stormy 
winter's  week  on  the  Plain,  while  Mr.  Cole 
saw  the  mountaineers  only  in  their  summer 
Sunday's  best.  Mr.  Knapp  gives  an  inlook 
upon  an  additional  element  of  Havadoric 
degradation.  "  As  I  sat  talking  with  the 
villagers  about  the  necessity  of  educating 
their  sons  and  daughters,  I  noticed  a  couple 
of  the  latter  coming  tugging  up  the  exceed- 
ingly steep  mountain,  each  with  a  ponderous 
load  of  brushwood  and  roots  on  her  back, 
which  had  been  gathered  on  the  adjoining 
hills.  As  they  came  up,  and  threw  their 
loads  down  near  my  feet,  an  old  man  turned 
round,  and  pointing  to  them,  —  down  whose 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  47 

faces  the  perspiration  flowed,  while  they 
were  panting  for  breath,  —  exdaimed,  '  Edu- 
cate our  daughters!  Why,  if  we  should 
do  that,  who  would  bring  our  woodV'' 

To  the  work,  then,  in  this  metropolis  of 
Turkey  darkness  and  degradation,  our  mis- 
sionary devoted  himself.  But  hardly  had 
he  reached  his  field  when  he  gained  his 
most  coveted  prize  —  was  he  in  error  who 
said  missionaries  always  fare  so  ?  —  by  get- 
ting a  first-rate  wife.  Visiting  the  city  of 
Bitlis,  he  met  a  pupil  of  the  female  sem- 
inary, who  had  rejected  desirable  offers  of 
marriage,  but,  in  spite  of  the  opposition 
of  friends,  at  once  accepted  Mr.  Concord- 
ance, saying,  "No  matter  if  he  is  homely 
and  blind,  he's  a  Christian;  and  I'll  marry 
him." 

And  thus,  apparently,  had  Providence 
not  only  provided  him  with  eyes,  but  the 
ignorant  daughters  of  the  village  with  an 
educator. 


48  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

The  stoiy  of  their  labors  must,  of  course, 
be  very  brief;  for  Hohannes  reached  his 
field  late  in  1868,  and  died  March  31,  1869. 
Mr.  Knapp  says  of  them,  "  They  were  doing 
a  great  work  there."  Sure  we  may  be,  that 
such  a  man,  united  to  such  a  woman,  could 
do  nothing  less  than  a  great  work,  even 
when  shut  up  in  so  sryiall  a  field  of  action. 
Just  how  much  of  the  striking  spiritual 
work  in  that  village  was  due  to  their  labors, 
and  how  much  to  those  of  another  "  devot- 
edly Christian  helper,"  Arakial  —  Apostle  — 
by  name,  who  had  made  his  grave  in  that 
stricken  village,  we  can  not  say.  But  the 
impress  of  one  or  both  is  indelibly  stamped 
upon  the  people.  A  colporter  who  visited 
the  place  but  a  few  days  before  the  death 
of  Hohannes,  and  while  he  was,  with  his 
characteristic  earnestness,  laboring  to  rouse 
and  enlighten  the  people,  reported  the  vil- 
lage as  "  a  heaven   on  earth."     Wrote  Mr. 


ARMENIAN    PRIEST. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  49 

Knapp,  in  the  same  letter  whose  postscript 
told  of  the  death  of  Hohannes,  "  In  that 
village  of  fort}^  houses,  where  a  few  years 
since  the  people  were  notorious  for  being 
robbers  and  murderers,  like  their  Koordish 
neighbors,  (how  changed  now  ! )  there  are 
sixty  just  learning  to  read,  some  of  whom 
are  upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age."  And 
while  doing  his  utmost  for  his  little  flock, 
among  whom  his  influence  almost  obliter- 
ated the  distinction  between  Armenian  and 
Protestant,  he  forgot  not  to  labor  for  the 
spread  of  the  tithing  principle.  Writes  Mr. 
Knapp,  "  He  earnestly  besought  us  to  throw 
our  influence  in  favor  of  the  tithing  system. 
And  he  practiced  what  he  preached.  His 
salary  was  only  eight  dollars  a  month ;  and, 
although  he  had  a  wife  and  a  lad  to  support 
from  this,  he  gave  without  fail  one-tenth 
into  the  '  storehouse,'  thus  leaving  seven 
dollars  and  twenty  cents  for  the  monthly 

4 


50  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

support  of  himself  and  family."  When 
seized  with  the  fatal  illness,  which  lasted 
but  three  or  four  days,  he  at  once  expressed 
the  opinion  that  he  should  die,  and  made 
such  arrangements  as  he  could  for  the  future 
comfort  of  his  wife.  Much  of  the  time 
on  his  death-bed  was  spent  in  giving  counsel 
to  his  little  flock.  So  calm  was  he,  and 
so  confident  of  his  approaching  end,  that 
he  gave  special  directions  for  his  burial,  and 
had  himself  clothed  with  the  apparel  in 
which  he  wished  to  be  interred! 

When  his  fellow-missionary  went  from 
Moosh  for  the  burial-services,  he  expected, 
that,  as  uniformly  happens  in  similar  cases 
elsewhere,  the  Armenians  would  mani- 
fest hostility.  But,  instead  of  doing  so, 
they  vied  with  the  Protestants  in  carrying 
out  to  the  letter  Hohannes'  particular  re- 
quests in  regard  to  his  burial ;  carrying  him 
to  their  own  cemetery^  and  seeming  to  be  as 
genuine  mourners  as  his  own  people. 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  51 

Such  love  had  but  four  months  of  actual 
labor  among  them  inspired  among  tliis  sim- 
ple-hearted people !  A  few  months  later  a 
little  company,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Knapp, 
gathered  for  the  formation  of  a  church 
among  them.  Mr.  Knapp  shall  tell  his  own 
story  of  the  scene.  "  The  greatest  feast  of 
good  things  we  enjoyed  in  Havadoric.  Our 
own  people  "  [of  Bitlis]  "  had  observed  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for  the  village, 
the  villagers  also  observing  the  same  day ; 
and  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
manifest.  The  worshiping  congregation  was 
in  tears  before  God,  and  a  number  were 
converted.  On  the  night  of  our  arrival,  we 
called  together  eighteen  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men ;  and  each  one,  in  reply  to  the 
question  whether  he  desired  a  church  to  be 
formed,  rephed,  '  Badvelly,  I  believe  there 
ought  to  be  a  church  ;  but  /  am  not  worthy 
to  be  admitted  to  it.' 


52  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

"  On  a  following  day  we  spent  ten  hours  in 
examining  twenty-two  persons.  Their  history 
and  religious  experience  were  exceedingly 
interesting,  and  most  stimulating  to  one's 
piety.  Their  piety  is  characterized  by  si'm- 
plicity. 

"  One,  when  brought  under  conviction,  was 
in  great  distress  in  view  of  his  past  life.  A 
notorious  thief  and  robber,  he  with  others 
had  stolen  from  the  flocks  in  many  villages, 
often  appropriating  to  himself  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  slaughtered  prey,  leaving  the 
rest  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts.  In  one 
of  the  prayer-meetings  he  stated  this  fact, 
saying  it  would  take  half  the  village  was 
worth  to  replace  what  he  had  stolen,  and 
with  tearful  entreaty  seeking  forgiveness. 
Tl>3y  promptly  replied,  '  Brother,  we  most 
cheerfully  forgive  you.  Go  to  the  other  vil- 
lages, and  confess  your  thefts  and  seek  for- 
giveness ;   and  if  they  demand  restitution,  as 


GKACE  ILLUSTRATED.  53 

you  are  poor,  we  will  help  you  pay  the  debt.' 
Another  said  he  had  defrauded  government 
of  taxes  to  the  amount  of  five  piasters  (twenty 
cents),  and  he  did  not  find  forgiveness  from 
God  until  he  resolved  to  refund  the  amount. 

"  One  of  two  brothers,  partners  in  business, 
had  stolen  a  sheep  from  a  Turk  fifteen  years 
ago.  When  brought  under  conviction,  he 
went  and  confessed  the  theft ;  but  the  haughty 
Turk  would  not  forgive  him  on  his  restoring 
the  sheep,  but  demanded  what  would  have 
accrued  as  the  product  of  that  sheep  during 
the  fifteen  years.  In  great  distress,  he  went 
and  confessed  all  to  his  brother  also,  and 
asked  what  he  should  do.  The  brother 
replied,  '  Let  us  pray  over  it ;  and,  if  the 
Turk  adhere  to  his  demand,  we  must  refund 
the  whole  as  he  requires.' 

"  They  prayed,  after  which  the  man  again 
sought  forgiveness ;  and,  to  his  happy  sur- 
prise, the  Turk  released  him  on  his  paying 
the  sheep." 


64  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

SufSce  it  to  say  that  a  church  of  nine  male 
and  two  female  members  was  formed,  the 
"  delegates  "  from  abroad  being  "  surprised  at 
the  simplicity  of  faith  and  strength  of  Chris- 
tian character  of  the  two  latter."  "And 
now  "  —  April,  1870  —  "  seventeen  houses, 
or  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls,  in  the  village, 
are  Protestant;  and  the  whole  village,  five 
persons  excepted,  are  persuaded  of  the  truth. 
Of  the  Protestants,  sixteen  promise  tithes  to 
the  Lord.  All  the  male  members  of  the 
church  but  one  give  tithes." 

"Well  might  Mr.  Knapp  add,  "  What  a 
change  has  come  over  this  village  of  Hava- 
doric  !  "  and  "  the  28th  "  of  April,  1870,  "was, 
I  think,  the  happiest  day  of  my  life." 

In  the  autumn  of  1871  Mr.  Cole  of  Erz- 
room  visited  the  place  with  Mr.  Knapp,  when 
a  simple  epitaph  was  engraved  to  his  memory 
upon  the  flat  stone  that  marks  the  grave  of 
Ilohannes,  of  whom  he  remarks,  "  The  noble 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  55 

man  seems  to  have  left  his  imprint  on  the 
village."  "  Those,"  says  he,  "  were  happy- 
days  that  we  spent  among  that  poverty- 
stricken  people.  We  found  them  so  earnest, 
so  rich  in  faith,  many  of  them,  that  we 
thought  little  of  the  surroundings.  The 
sabbath,  what  a  precious  day  it  was  to  us  all ! 
A  full  house  of  such  eager,  earnest  listeners 
—  who  could  help  preaching  the  gospel  to 
them  !  Their  very  presence  seemed  to  be 
mouth,  tongue,  utterance,  to  the  speaker. 

"  Of  the  three  exercises  of  the  day,  one 
most  of  all  touched  my  heart,  and  that 
because  of  a  smgle  incident,  which,  perhaps 
better  than  any  thing  else,  illustrates  the 
utter  poverty  of  the  people.  One  of  the 
eighteen  members  of  the  church  presented 
his  young  babe  for  the  seal  of  the  covenant. 
It  was  too  much.  The  tears  went  coursing 
down  my  cheeks  in  spite  of  me.  I  thought 
of  the  English  consul's  little  boy,  whom  we 


56  GEACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

had  recently  baptized  in  Erzroom,  of  tlie  ele- 
gant baptismal  robe  that  had  come  all  the 
way  from  England  to  grace  the  occasion. 

"  But  here  was  a  son  of  the  faith,  whose 
sole  costume  would  hardly  be  considered  a  fit 
contribution  to  the  kitchen  mop  in  the  West- 
ern world,  —  a  mere  bundle  of  old  tattered 
rags!  Thank  God,  I  said,  their  robes  will 
be  all  one  '  up  there.' " 

True,  brother,  and  yet  not  true.  We 
query  whether,  "  up  there,"  some  of  these 
humble  ones,  with  the  poor  blind  man  who 
"pointed  the  way"  thither,  will  not  wear 
richer  robes  and  brighter  crowns  than  many 
of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth. 

God  does  not  set  his  jewels  here. 
Earth's  shming  ore,  treasure  of  worldly  great, 
Wherewith  bedecked  they  walk  in  pride  abroad, 
Will  be  but  pavement  for  the  gorgeous  courts, 
Where,  freed  from  all  which  weights  and  clogs  them 
here, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  57 

Clothed  iu  the  forms  of  heaven's  own  lusfrous  life, 

Endowed  with  affluence  all  unknown  on  earth, 

And  robed  in  raiment  brighter  than  the  light, 

His  chosen  ones  shall  walk  erect  with  him, 

The  difference  all  "  discerned  " 

'  Twixt  those  who  serve  him,  those  who  serve  him 

not. 
When  earth,  with  all  its  pomp  and  power  and  pride, 
Shall  fade  and  sink  in  the  great  final  fire. 
His  own,  his  jewels,  spared  from  every  harm. 
Who,  scorned  of  men,  oft  to  each  other  spake, 
Who  prayed  and  toiled  in  pain  and  weakness  here, 
Winning  the  wandering  to  the  way  of  life, 
Shall  shine  as  stars  for  ever  and  for  ever. 
Their  glorious  setting  then  shall  be 
The  glittering  crown  upon  the  head  of  Him 
Who  bought  them  with  his  blood. 


58  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


III. 

BLIND   DONABED. 

OOME  eight  years  since,  a  poor  blind 
beggar  in  Hoghi — there  are  multitudes 
of  such  in  this  land  —  was  induced  to  attend 
a  Bible-class  opened  by  the  Protestant 
pastor,  and  to  commit  to  memory  some 
verses  of  Scripture.  Not  long  after,  he 
obtained  a  copy  of  a  primer  for  the  blind, 
which  he  soon  mastered ;  and  purchased  all 
the  books  which  were  to  be  found  in  Arme- 
nian in  that  character,  —  the  thirty-fourth 
and  eighty-sixth  Psalms,  and  the  third  chap- 
ter of  John. 

It  was  soon  proved  by  practical  illustra- 
tion, that  "  the  entrance  of  thy  words  giveth 
light:    it    giveth    understanding    unto    the 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  69 

simple."  Though  now  the  poor  blind  man 
has  Matthew  entire  to  read,  and  has  good 
ear  acquaintance  with  many  parts  of  the 
Bible,  it  is  deeply  interesting  to  hear  him 
give  enthusiastic  expression  to  his  love  for 
those  "  two  psalms,"  which  liis  fingers  first 
read.  "  More  to  be  desired  are  they  than 
gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold,  sweeter  also 
than  honey  and  the  honeycomb,"  seems 
to  him  almost  too  tame  to  tell  the  precious- 
ness  of  those  two  chapters.  He  soon 
"  tasted,  and  saw  that  the  Lord  is  good,  and 
blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  him." 

Our  first  acquaintance  with  him  was  at  a 
visit  to  Hoghi,  some  four  years  since,  when, 
in  a  prayer-meeting,  our  attention  was 
attracted  to  his  earnest  and  really  eloquent 
prayer,  in  which  he  was  specially  drawn  out 
for  the  missionaries,  that  God  by  his  Spirit 
would  "  sustain,  comfort,  and  cheer  those 
who,  for  his  sake,  have  left  home,  country. 


60  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

and  friends,  and  in  their  loneliness  need  so 
much  that  comfort  which  comes  from  on 
high." 

We  began  to  query  whether  here  might 
not  be  a  successor  to  "  Blind  John  Concor- 
dance." 

Having,  by  inquiry,  satisfied  ourselves  of 
the  integrity  of  his  Christian  character,  we, 
a  year  afterwards,  admitted  him  to  the 
normal  school.  At  the  door  of  the  school 
a  difiiculty  arose.  With  a  face  full  of 
sorrow,  he  informed  us  that  he  was  thirty 
piasters  (11.25)  in  debt.  His  begging  in- 
come, less  the  tithes  paid  into  the  Lord's 
treasur}*,  had  been  less  by  this  amount  than 
Lis  expenses  for  the  year  past. 

A  "  farewell  begging-tour "  of  ten  min- 
utes, taken  by  our  leave  among  ourselves, 
settled  that  matter;  and  he  entered  the 
school  free  from  debt,  receiving  for  his 
support  four  cents  a  day  from  the  missionary 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  61 

treasury.  Let  no  one  exclaim  against  the 
meanness  of  this  sum,  till  informed,  that 
having  lived  upon  it  for  six  months,  and 
spent  the  succeeding  winter  vacation  in 
labor  on  a  salary  of  two  dollars  per  month, 
he,  the  following  year,  gave  up  in  despair, 
and  went  back  to  self-support  at  his  old 
trade,  when  told,  that,  fearing  students  lived 
too  poorly  on  their  allowance,  we  had  de- 
cided to  feed  them  at  a  table  of  our  own 
providing.  "  During  the  past  year  his  four 
cents  a  day  had  sufficed  for  food  and  shoes ; 
and  what  should  he  do  now  for  shoes  ?  " 

Let  no  one  here  propose  to  condemn  him 
for  going  back  again  to  begging,  which  is  in 
this  land  a  usual  and  honorable  profession 
for  "  enlightened  men." 

But  our  candidate  is  back  again,  having 
meantime  fared  better  than  did  poor  John 
Concordance,  by  getting  a  wife  with  a  fair 
amount  of  brains  plus  one  eye,  and  who  has 


62  GKACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

been  received  to  the  female  seminary. 
Protestant  Christian  blind  men  have  a  pros- 
pect of  faring  better  matrimonially  than 
have  their  predecessors.  Whether  this  one 
will  prove  to  be  a  worthy  successor  of  him 
of  Mashldr,  we  know  not.  Sure  we  are,  that 
while,  like  him,  he  will,  by  the  mere  fact  of 
his  loss  of  sight,  find  access  to  some  else 
inaccessible,  and  while,  by  his  simple,  earnest 
piety,  he  will  be  fitted  to  do  good,  he  is  not, 
like  John,  a  semi-son  of  thunder,  and  so 
can  not  make  the  stir  in  the  world  which 
he  did. 

Should  he,  a  thing  not  improbable,  finally 
prove  himself  unsuited  for  systematic  evan- 
gelistic labor,  and  backslide  into  his  old 
business,  sure  I  am  that  the  comparatively 
insignificant  sum  sj^ent  on  his  Bible  training 
will  pay  as  a  missionary  investment;  for, 
going  with  open  mouth  as  he  did,  from 
Marash   on  the   south,  to   the   Anti-Taiu-us 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  63 

range  on  the  north,  he  can  not  fail  to  drop 
much  precious  gospel  seed,  some  of  which 
must  fall  into  good  ground.  He  now  goes 
out,  with  a  salary  increased  to  five  dollars, 
to  labor  for  a  time,  perhaps  permanently,  in 
Komk,  one  of  the  wickedest  towns  ariong 
the  many  wicked  ones  in  our  mission-fiel  i. 

We  ask  on  his  behalf  the  prayers  of  each. 
Christian  reader. 


64  GKACE   ILLUSTRATED. 


IV. 

THE  VICTORIOUS  BAKER. 

OOME  twelve  years  ago,  when  the  doc- 
trines and  demands  of  the  newly  arrived 
gospel  were  in  the  mouths  of  many  who  had 
it  not,  —  and  in  this  way  Christ  was  practi- 
cally preached  by  many  who  were  experiment- 
ally ignorant  of  him,  —  a  baker  in  Yegheki, 
Melcone  by  name,  became  roused  to  the 
question,  whether  it  was  not  his  duty  to 
keep  the  sabbath  holy,  and  liis  privilege  to 
enjoy  one  day  of  rest  in  seven. 

Calling  upon  a  priest  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion, he  was  at  first  informed  that  to  bake 
and  sell  bread  on  the  sabbath  is  sin ;  and 
then,  again,  changing  sides,  the  priest  com- 
forted him  by  saying,  "  It  is  lawful  to   do 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  65 

good  on  the  sabbatli  day ;  and  baking  is  a 
good  and  necessary  work."  The  command, 
"  Remember  the  sabbath  day  to  keep  it 
hoi}*,"  still  ringing  in  his  ears,  he  called 
upon  a  second  priest,  who  assured  him  that 
he  was  doing  no  wrong.  But,  as  he  says, 
the  more  men  said,  "  Go  on  with  your  bak- 
ing," the  more  it  appeared  to  him  that  he 
must  conform  literally  to  God's  command ; 
and  he  decided  to  close  his  bakery  on  the 
sabbath.  Feeling  that  in  so  doing  he  had 
done  a  good  thing,  he  had  a  not  unnatural 
feeling  of  satisfaction,  slightly  tinged  with 
Phariseeism.  In  these  circumstances,  he  one 
day  found  in  a  neighbor's  house  a  primer, 
which,  as  he  saj^s,  "  opened  of  itself  to  the 
passage,"  which,  after  much  effort,  he  spelled 
out,  "  '  Be  thou  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all 
the  day  long.'  "  He  had  supposed  his  duty 
all  done,  and  himself  safe,  in  stopping  bread- 
baking  on  the  sabbath ;  but  here  was  a  new 

5 


66  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

command,  which  at  once  condemned  him  as 
a  sinner.  Borrowing  the  little  book,  he 
conned  it  day  after  day  in  search  of  more 
light,  and  at  length  decided  to  go  at  once  to 
the  fountain  head,  by  purchasing  the  Prot- 
estant Testament.  This  done,  he  trem- 
blingly went  to  the  neighboring  town  of 
Mezereh,  and  to  the  newly  opened  Protestant 
place  of  worship  there. 

Ere  long  he  had  courage  to  visit  the 
Protestant  preacher  in  his  own  town,  and 
finally  to  attend  a  meeting  there  on  the  sab- 
bath. Spies,  whom  the  priests  kept  on  the 
watch,  at  once  reported  the  fact ;  and  when, 
at  evening,  he  appeared  in  church,  his  name 
was  read  on  the  list  of  those  whom  the 
priest  cursed  for  adhering  to  the  Protestants, 
forbidding  all  persons  to  speak  to,  or  to  have 
any  dealings  with,  them. 

This  was  just  the  thing  needed  to  make 
him  decide,  once  for  all,  to  waver  no  Ion- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  67 

ger.  He  at  once  rose  and  went  forward, 
and  demanded  by  what  right  these  curses 
were  heaped  upon  him  for  reading  a  book 
which  differs  in  no  respect  from  the  Tes- 
tament on  the  altar,  except  in  being  in 
the  modern,  spoken  tongue.  And,  having 
shown  that  the  priest  had  been  acting  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  their  own  Scriptures, 
he  added,  "  Though  I  was  not  a  Protestant, 
I  become  such  now.  I  go  out  of  the  church- 
doors,  and  write  upon  them  that  I  belong 
here  no  longer."  And  he  was  as  good  as  his 
word.  Henceforth  he  adhered  to  the  little 
company  of  despised,  persecuted  ones.  And 
now  began  his  trials  in  the  effort  to  keep 
the  sabbath.  Those  who  would  gladly  have 
had  him  close  his  bakery  on  the  sabbath, 
that  their  own  trade  might  increase,  resolved 
now  to  prevent  it,  and  complained  of  him  as 
a  person  who  caused  the  people  inconven- 
ience by  closing  his  bakery  one  day  in  seven. 


68  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

He  was  summoned  before  the  pasha,  and 
commanded  to  keep  his  shop  open  on  all 
days.  He  pleaded  his  Christian  faith  as  a 
reason  ft)r  declining,  but  was  told  that  other 
Christians  baked  and  sold  bread  on  the  sab- 
bath, and  he  must  do  so.  He  was  cast  into 
prison,  and  retained  there  a  day,  but,  remain- 
ing immovable,  was  finally  discharged ;  the 
pasha  concluding  to  let  him  have  his  own 
way.  Another  and  another  effort  was  made 
through  successive  pashas,  with  the  same 
result,  till  at  length,  after  a  four-years' 
struggle,  his  enemies  joined  hands  for  a  final 
effort,  and  he  was  summoned  before  the  coun- 
cil, and  bidden  in  the  most  peremptory  man- 
ner to  keep  his  bakery  open  permanently. 
His  answer  was  prompt  and  decisive.  Tell- 
ing them  that  his  religion  forbade  him  to  con- 
tinue his  usual  occupation  on  God's  day,  he 
added,  "  Though  all  the  world  unite  in  effort 
to  compel  me  to  violate  my  conscience,  and  I 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  69 

be  forced  to  beg  my  bread  ;  though  you  beat 
me,  imprison  me,  and  even  take  off  my  head, 
—  I  shall  be  of  the  same  mind.  I  wiU  not 
profane  the  sabbath."  —  "  Close  your  bakery 
then,"  they  replied.  "  Give  me  a  paper,"  he 
replied,  "  certifj'ing  that  you  compel  me  to 
do  this  because  of  my  adherence  to  my  faith, 
so  that  all  persons  may  know  the  reason  of 
my  punishment,  and  I  will  do  as  you  bid." 
They  decUning  to  do  this,  he  returned  to  his 
bakery,  and  took  his  seat  upon  the  elevated 
platform  from  which  customers  are  supplied, 
ready  to  continue  his  business,  but  was  soon 
followed  by  an  officer,  wlio  bade  him  close 
his  doors,  and  surrender  the  keys.  "  Here  I 
sit,  and  shall  sit  till  removed  by  force,"  was 
his  reply.  The  officer,  astonished  at  courage 
so  unusual,  returned  for  further  instructions 
from  his  superiors,  who  said,  "  You  need 
not  use  force."  He  returned,  and  said  to 
Melcone,  "  Bake  on  :  I  am  instructed  to  let 


70  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

you  alone."  And  from  that  clay  to  this  his 
victory  has  been  complete.  Nobody  now 
imagines  that  he  can  be  compelled  to  bake 
or  sell  bread  on  the  sabbath. 

When  the  same  officer  was  sent  to  com- 
mand some  butchers  to  keep  open  shop  on 
the  sabbath,  and  they  began  to  plead  consci- 
entious scruples,  he  replied,  "  You'll  not  get 
off  by  that  sort  of  easy,  timid  talk.  If  jou 
expect  to  succeed,  you  must,  like  Melcone 
the  baker,  take  your  lives  in  your  hands,  and 
say,  '  We  will  not.'  "  Hearing  of  Melcone's 
success,  the  Armenian  bakers  resolved  to 
follow  his  example. 

But  the  stuff  reformers  are  made  of  was 
not  in  them.  Summoned  before  the  pasha, 
and  attempting  to  plead  conscientious  scru- 
ples, they  encountered  only  ridicule.  "  You 
talk  of  conscience  !  "  exclaimed  the  ruler,  — 
"  you  who  manifest  such  scruples  nowhere 
else.     Melcone  shows  clearly  by  all  his  con- 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  71 

duct  that  he  has  a  conscience  ;  and  you,  that 
you  are  only  pretending  to  have  one.  Stop 
your  foolish  talk,  and  get  you  to  your  work ; 
and,  if  I  have  any  more  trouble  from  you, 
you  shall  be  suitably  punished." 

To  their  work  they  went,  and  gave  the 
pasha  no  more  trouble. 

Melcone  is  now  the  chief  baker  in  this  city, 
and  known  by  all  as  a  God-fearing  man. 

And  he  is  no  less  bold  and  uncompromis- 
ing in  practical  Christian  work,  ready  to  do 
for  Christ  whatever  his  hand  finds  to  do. 

Would  that  all  Christians,  like  him,  hav- 
ing succeeded  in  getting  new-comers  into  the 
house  of  God  on  the  sabbath,  would,  like 
him,  at  the  close  of  service,  take  them  aside 
to  talk  and  pray  with  them  in  hope  of  sav- 
ingly impressing  their  minds  with  the  truth 
they  have  heard. 

With  even  a  few  such  faithful,  earnest 
workers  in  every  church,  the  millennial  day 
would  not  long  delay  its  dawning. 


72  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


•  V. 

CRITICISM  DISARMED. 

rriHE  man  who  disarmed  it  was  one  who, 
in  all  preliminary  action,  threatened  to 
make  himself  its  victim  ;  but  he  is  first  to  be 
introduced  to  the  reader. 

Some  score  of  years  ago,  a  boy  in  Diar- 
bekir,  Geragose  by  name,  and  called,  from  his 
father's  business,  Hoharrarian,  (son  of  the) 
"  Cook,"  attached  himself  to  the  gospel  party. 

Such  was  his  father's  rage  on  hearing  the 
fact,  that,  seizing  his  carving-knife,  he  ran 
to  seek  his  son,  declaring  he  would  kill  him 
on  the  spot.  Fleeing  to  the  house  of  the 
missionary,  the  boy  lay  concealed  till  his 
father's  wrath  had  sufficiently  subsided  to 
allow  him  to  come  forth.     The  father  died 


GEACE  ILLUSTKATED.  73 

not  long  after ;  and  in  due  time  the  son, 
grown  now  to  manhood,  and  desiring  to 
enter  the  ministry,  appeared  at  the  door  of 
our  Harpoot  Tlieological  Seminary,  and  was 
admitted ;  his  wife  also  entering  the  female 
seminary.  With  a  personal  appearance  not 
very  prepossessing,  his  face  quite  badly 
pitted  by  small-pox,  and  a  somewhat  hesitat- 
ing utterance,  he  excited  no  brilliant  hopes 
for  his  future.  As  a  scholar,  he  was  not 
above  the  average ;  and  when  he  entered 
on  his  senior  year,  and  began  sermonizing,  he 
discouraged  his  teacher  by  the  apparent  lack 
of  definite  thought  in  his  "  plans."  This 
was  specially  true  when  he  was  about  to 
prepare  a  written  sermon  for  criticism,  and 
presented  a  plan  on  Exod.  xvii.  5,  6  :  "  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Go  on  before  the 
people,  and  take  with  thee  of  the  elders  of 
Israel ;  and  thy  rod,  wherewith  thou  smotest 
the  river,  take  in  thine  hand,  and  go.     Be- 


74  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

hold,  I  will  stand  before  thee  there  upon  the 
rock  in  Horeb ;  and  thou  shalt  smite  the 
rock,  and  there  shall  come  water  out  of  it 
that  the  people  may  drink." 

In  vain  did  I  endeavor  to  gather  from  his 
"  plan  '"  what  he  purposed  to  do  with  this 
strilving  text,  and  at  last  frankly  told  him  I 
feared  he  would  "  make  nothing  of  it "  in 
writing,  unless  he  succeeded  better  in  putting 
on  paper  the  ideas  which  he  proposed  to 
amplify.  Confident,  however,  that  he  could 
say  at  length  what  he  could  not  in  brief,  he 
went  to  work,  and  in  due  time  presented 
himself  before  his  critics,  his  teacher  and 
fellow-students,  with  a  sermon  in  which  he 
set  forth  in  a  clear,  striking,  forcible  style, 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  that  of  guiding 
and  feeding  the  flock,  under  three  heads  : 
(1)  Man's  part,  "  Go  thou,  take  the  rod, 
smite  the  rock ;  "  (2)  God's  part,  "  I  will 
stand  before  thee  upon  the  rock ;   and  (3) 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  75 

the  result,  —  "  There  shall  come  water  out 
of  it." 

"  This  result  is  sure  to  follow  when  the 
antecedent  conditions  have  been  comphed 
with ;  and,  if  it  follow  not,  either  God  is 
false  to  his  promise,  or  we  to  our  duty. 
Mere  going  is  not  enough  ;  nor  is  it  sufficient 
to  take  the  rod :  we  must  smites  and  when 
and  where  God  bids  us. 

"  How  solemn  the  responsibility  of  stand- 
ing thus,  with  God  before  us,  ready  to  bless 
or  curse,  according  as  we  do,  or  fail  to  do,  as 
he  has  bidden  us !  "  As  he  went  on,  open- 
ing up  and  enforcing  these  ideas,  one  by  one 
the  critics'  pencils  dropped  from  their  hands; 
and  when,  at  last,  he  dwelt  upon  the  awful 
guilt  of  the  unsuccessful  minister,  and  the 
blessedness  of  the  privilege  of  being,  with 
God's  help,  a  successful  one,  opening  foun- 
tains of  living  water  for  thirsty,  perishing 
souls,  tears  stood  in  all  eyes.     Teacher  and 


76  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

pupils  alike  felt  that  we  were  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  and,  instead  of  criticising  the 
preacher,  needed  to  look  to  our  own  case. 

And  when,  at  length,  the  usual  criticisms 
were  called  for,  "It  is  a  good  sermon  :  let 
us  pray,"  was  the  only  response. 

Criticism  had  been  disarmed  in  the  most 
effectual  way,  by  making  all  feel  that  God 
was  in  that  place,  ready  to  bring  us  all  into 
judgment. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  77 


VI. 

LITTLE  GREGORY. 

"Vr EARLY    twenty  years    ago   Mr.  Dun- 
more,  then  a  missionary  at  Diarberkir, 
a  city  on  the  Tigris,  spent  a  night  at  Har- 
poot. 

The  news  soon  reached  the  market-place, 
and  spread  from  shop  to  shop ;  for  in  those 
days  a  Frank  was  a  new  wonder  in  this  city. 
The  people  soon  learned  that  the  stranger 
was  a  "  missionary,"  one  of  the  "  wolves  in 
sheep's  clothing  "  that  had,  "in  these  latter 
days,"  begun  to  prowl  about  the  Christian 
folds.  The  pious  and  vigilant  gave  an  omi- 
nous shake  of  the  head,  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  oftener,  and  passed  their  beads 
through  their  fingers  with  greater  rapidity^ 


78  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

an  evidence  that  they  were  fully  aware  of 
approaching  danger. 

Doubtless  the  shepherds  warned  then* 
flocks,  and  commanded  that  all  precautions 
should  be  taken,  weak  places  strengthened, 
and  the  feeble  ones  helped  out  of  danger's 
reach.  Fathers  carried  the  news  to  their 
homes,  and  kept  strict  watch  there,  lest 
some  of  their  grown  sons  should  be  found 
outside  after  nightfall,  and  thus  become  a 
prey  to  the  dreaded  foe.  Mothers  listened 
with  hushed  voices,  and  pressed  their  little 
ones  to  their  bosoms,  lest  some  baleful  influ- 
ence should  reach  them  even  within  their 
home-circles.  The  grandmothers,  too,  were 
all  at  church  next  morning,  and  forgot  their 
gossip  and  match-making  during  the  service, 
while,  with  unusual  devoutness,  they  made 
the  sign  of  the  cross  on  their  breasts,  and 
many  genuflexions  of  bending,  bowing,  kneel- 
ing, and  kissing  the  floor,  which '  is  their 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  79 

yergur-hakootune  (earth-kissing)  ;  or,  as  we 
should  say,  worship.  They  believed  all  they 
had  heard  about  these  "destroyers  of  the 
religion  of  their  fathers."  This  man  was  a 
real  specimen  of  the  "  infidel  Protes."  He 
would  have  great  influence  over  all  who 
ventured  near  him.  If  even  one  should 
touch  his  books,  or  drink  sherbet  ^  with  him, 
he  would  become  dazed,  and  an  apostate 
from  the  religion  of  his  ancestors. 

In  spite  of  all  these  precautions,  a  few 
sought  out  the  stranger,  and  among  them  a 
little  tailor,  who  was  from  a  neighboring 
village.  Was  it  because  he  had  no  father  or. 
mother  near  to  watch  over  him  ?  We  know 
not ;  but  we  do  know  that  he  will  bless  God 
throughout  eternity  for  what  he  obtained 
from  the  despised  missionary.  He  did  not 
rush  forward,  and  demand  that  the  mission- 
ary prove  his  new  doctrines.  No :  he  was  a 
*  A  sweet  drink. 


80  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  ^ 

timid,  shrinking  youth,  and  listened  in 
silence.  When  those  who  had  come  in  left, 
he  politel}'  asked  for  a  Testament,  and,  pay- 
ing for  and  putting  it  in  his  bosom,  went  out. 

Thus  one  little  seed  was  sown  that  was  to 
take  root  in  good  ground,  and  bring  forth 
much  fruit. 

I  feel  very  sure  that  you  will  all  be  inter- 
ested to  watch  it,  and  see  how  God  watered 
it,  till  it  burst  forth  into  such  a  beautiful, 
comely  tree,  that  others  sought  to  rest  under 
its  shadow.  A  few  years  passed ;  and  we 
find  this  same  young  tailor,  with  several 
others,  gathered  into  a  class  in  Harpoot,  and 
receiving  daily  instruction  from  the  mission- 
aries, who  are  now  not  mere  sojourners,  but 
permanently  settled  here.  You  will  notice 
him  at  once ;  for  his  face  is  radiant  and 
earnest,  and  his  bearing  polite.  But  you  will 
see  he  is  the  same  diffident  young  man  that 
we  met  at  the  room  of  the.  missionary.     A 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  81 

lady  enters  the  room.  Oriental  politeness 
does  not  require  him  to  rise,  unless  she  is  an 
aged  lady ;  but  at  once  he  is  on  his  feet,  and 
needs  not  to  be  told  that  Occidental  polite- 
ness requires  it ;  for  his  politeness  is  "  love 
manifested  in  a  loving  manner."  In  1859  a 
school  for  preparing  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry was  opened  at  Harpoot ;  and  the  "  little 
tailor,"  whom  we  henceforth  called  Little 
Krekore  (Gregory),  entered  with  seventeen 
others.  Among  this  first  class  were  some  of 
greater  ability  as  scholars,  but  none  that 
seemed  to  come  so  near  to  the  likeness  of 
the  "beloved  apostle."  He  graduated  with 
honor,  yes,  more,  with  the  love  of  all  his 
classmates  ;  which  is  as  rare  a  thing  in  the 
East  as  in  the  West. 

He  was  immediately  called  to  labor  in 
Ichmeh,  a  large  village  about  twenty  miles 
east  from  Harpoot. 

He  had  spent  one  of  his  winter  vacations 

6 


82  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

there  while  in  the  seminary  ;  and  the  people 
were  all  in  love  with  him.  Many  who  would 
not  receive  his  new  doctrines  were  pleased 
with  his  kind,  polite,  Christian  bearing.  A 
prominent  lady  was  induced  by  her  son,  who 
had  become  a  Protestant,  to  attend  one  of 
his  evening  meetings.  She  was  unwilling  to 
offend  her  brother-in-law,  who  opposed  this 
new  faith :  so  she  crept  along  under  a  high 
wall  that  separated  his  shop  from  the  street 
that  led  to  the  little  Protestant  chapel,  and 
thus  entered  for  the  first  time  ;  but  it  was 
not  to  be  the  last.  Like  the  "  little  tailor,*' 
she  heard  things  there  that  touched  her 
heart,  if  they  did  not  daze  her  brain ;  and 
^'I  couldn't  stay  away,"  was  her  answer 
when  asked  why  she  went.  The  little 
Primer  became  from  that  day  her  daily  com- 
panion. It  could  be  found  on  her  table 
when  she  kneaded  the  bread,  or  under  the 
cushion  near  her  wheel.    She  was  ever  ready 


GRACE  ILLTISTKATED.  83 

now  for  her  lesson  when  her  elder  son  came 
in  from  his  Avork,  or  a  younger  one  came 
from  school. 

Soon  this  whole  house,  of  some  fifty  souls, 
was  won  over  to  "  Krekore's  side,"  and  was 
an  acquisition  worth  having.  Some  of  its 
members  were  to  be  real  pillars  in  Christ's 
church  here;  and  Hach  Hatoon  (Lady 
Cross),  who  was  the  first  to  learn  to  read 
among  the  women,  was  to  be  a  real  "  mother  iil 
Israel."  Soon  one  of  the  priests  of  the  village 
became  uneasy.  Secretly  he  bought  a  Bible ; 
and  after  his  children  were  all  sleeping  for 
the  night,  and  the  outer  door  bolted,  he  drew 
it  forth  from  its  hiding-place,  and  read  to  his 
wife  some  of  its,  to  them,  new  truths.  "  We 
read  and  wept  together,"  said  the  wife  ;  "  and 
the  more  we  read,  the  sweeter  it  grew,  and 
the  wider  our  eyes  were  opened.  We  looked 
on  our  sleeping  children,  and  knew,  that,  if 
what  we  had  been  doing  should  be  known, 


84  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

we  should  soon  be  without  the  bread  to  fill 
their  mouths.  We  carefully  concealed  the 
Bible  :  but  night  after  night  we  continued  our 
reading  till  we  could  endure  it  no  longer ; 
and  I  said  to  my  husband,  '  Emmanuel,  we 
will  act  as  the  Bible  tells  us  to,  even  if,  hand 
in  hand,  we  must  beg  our  bread  from  door  to 
door.'  "  They  were  shunned,  persecuted, 
snowballed,  and  cursed ;  but,  with  "  Little 
Krekore "  to  strengthen  them,  they  were 
firm.  The  time  had  now  come  to  unite  the 
disciples  into  a  church ;  and  the  "  beloved 
teacher,"  as  they  had  hitherto  called  Kre- 
kore,  was  to  be  their  pastor.  The  chapel 
was  small ;  but  it  could  be  enlarged  a  little 
by  removing  a  partition. 

A  joyful  crowd  gathered,  and  among  them 
the  missionary  teachers,  and  the  classmates 
of  Krekore.  He  was  the  first  one  from  the 
Harpoot  seminary  to  be  inducted  into  the 
ofiice   of   the   ministry.     His   chapel   was   a 


GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED.  85 

very  mean  building  with  mud  walls ;  and  his 
house  was  so  small,  that  one  of  the  mission- 
aries gave  it  the  undignified  name  of  "  mouse- 
hole."  We  never  knew  him  to  falter  but 
once  ;  and  then  the  missionaries  voted  to  ask 
his  people  to  take  more  of  his  salary  upon 
themselves.  He  felt  that  they  would  not. 
His  wife  was  an  invalid ;  and  he  lacked  almost 
every  thing  that  makes  home  comfortable. 
The  people  had  not  then  learned  to  give,  or 
to  think  of  their  pastor's  wants,  as  they  now 
do.  Washing-day  found  no  tubs ;  and  once 
Krekore,  coming  in,  found  his  wife  in  tears. 
Like  some  other  ministers'  wives,  she  did  not 
always  find  it  so  pleasant  to  borrow,  even 
though  everybody  was  pleased  with  the 
minister.  He  said,  "  Martha,  don't  weep. 
If  God  sees  it  best  for  us  to  have  these 
things,  he  will  surely  send  them."  Not 
many  days  after,  a  brother  came  from  Har- 
poot,  bringing  just  the   needed  vessels,  —  a 


86  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

copper  boiler  and  tub.  Pastor  Krekore  met 
this  brother  in  tlie  street,  and  came  back 
with  quick  steps  to  his  house,  saying,  "  Look 
here,  Martha :  did  I  not  tell  you  these  would 
come  in  God's  time  ?  " 

He  felt  the  need  of  some  books  ;  but  how 
should  he  get  them  ?  They  would  cost  two 
or  three  months'  salary ;  and  he  could  ill 
afford  so  much  at  once.  He  thought  it  all 
over,  and  then  went  to  a  brother,  and  asked 
if  he  could  lend  him  the  money,  and  receive 
his  pay  in  small  sums.  "  You  can  only  live 
on  your  salary  now ;  and  how  can  you  save 
for  the  books  ?  Here,  take  this,  and  get  the 
books  you  need."  The  twenty  dollars  were 
soon  in  the  hand  of  the  missionary,  and  the 
books  ordered. 

He  was  npt  content  with  the  office  of 
pastor,  but,  like  a  faithful  shepherd,  Iniew 
all  about  his  sheep.  Even  the  lambs  were 
not  afraid  of  him. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  87 

He  tauglit  tlie  women,  old  and  young,  to 
read,  and  opened  a  weekly  meeting  for  tliem  ; 
for  his  wife  was  too  mucli  an  invalid  to  help 
him  in  this.  He  was  so  kind  to  his  wife, 
that  the  women  said  he  must  be  a  good  man ; 
and  thus  he  won  them  over  to  his  INIaster 
and  theirs.  And  some  came  to  care  for 
the  invalid  wife  who  would  not  speak  to  her 
or  answer  a  question.  One  woman  said,  "  I 
used  to  fill  my  ears  with  cotton,  so  that  I 
could  not  hear  what  you  said,  I  was  so  afraid 
you  would  make  a  Prote  of  me ;  but  I 
could  not  see  you  suffer,  and  that  kind  little 
man  wait  on  you  alone."  But  a  better  day 
was  dawning  for  him  who  could  always  trust 
in  God,  and  wait  his  time.  The  old  chapel 
was  full  to  overflowLDg,  and  the  people  felt 
that  they  must  "  arise  and  build  ;  "  and,  with 
some  help  from  the  missionaries,  they  bailt 
a  large,  commodious  church,  very  plain,  but, 
when  finished,  as  good  as   is  needed.     The 


88  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

"  mouse-hole,"  too,  has  given  place  to  a  nice 
house  of  five  rooms,  and  a  nice  court. 

Many  things  are  still  needed  to  make  this 
house  all  that  we  can  wish  for  this  good  man 
and  wife ;  but  God  will  send  them  all  in  his 
own  good  time.  The  people  are  independent, 
and  hard  to  manage  ;  but  God  raised  up  this 
patient,  polite,  lo"\dng  Christian  man  for  this 
place.  The  church  and  community  are  both 
growing ;  and  we  can  see  no  reason  why  all 
of  the  nominally  Christian  inhabitants  of 
Ichmeh  should  not  become  Protestants  from 
the  influence  of  this  young  man.  Would 
that  the  lone  missionary  who  sold  him  the 
Testament  could  come  and  see  the  results 
with  his  own  eyes  !  But  he  has  been  called 
to  a  higher  service,  and  perhaps  will  receive 
the  joyful  news  from  Pastor  Krekore  himself, 
when  they  meet  in  some  one  of  the  "  many 
mansions  "  in  our  Father's  house. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  89 


VII. 

SEED  BY  THE  WAYSIDE. 

"IVTOT  siDii'itually  did  it  tlius  /a?Z,  to  be 
devoured  by  fowls  of  the  air ;  but  liter- 
ally, and  with  intent,  w^as  it  thus  cast,  and  it 
sprung  up,  and  yielded  a  rich  harvest.  In 
1860,  when  the  village  of  Ichmeh  was  first 
occupied  as  a  missionary  out-station,  a  per- 
son passing  through  the  village  on  horse- 
back called  out  to  a  company  of  men  by  the 
roadside,  "  A  new  missionary  is  going  to 
preach  in  the  Protestant  chapel,  go  and 
hear  him  ;  "  and  passed  on  his  way,  to  learn, 
years  subsequently,  the  influence  of  that  one 
word.  One  from  among  the  crowd  started 
for  the  chapel,  when  all  broke  forth  in  a 
storm  of  ridicule  against  "  the  man  who  was 


90  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

turning  Prote."  "I  am  not  such,  and  don't 
propose  to  be,"  replied  he.  "  But  I  am  free 
to  go  where  I  please  ;  and,  as  you  try  to 
prevent  me,  I  shall  surely  go  and  hear  that 
man  preach." 

He  went,  and  continued  to  go,  never 
again  going  to  the  Armenian  Church.  And 
he  not  only  became  a  Protestant,  but  a  sin- 
cere Christian,  and  a  j)illar  in  the  church. 
Of  his  three  sons,  the  eldest,  Bedros,  had 
become  a  Protestant  before  his  father,  and 
borne  bitter  persecution  from  him.  They 
all  became  Christians ;  and  two  of  them, 
preachers,  graduating  at  Harpoot  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.  Bedros  ("Peter")  did  not, 
while  in  the  seminary,  excite  very  brilliant 
hopes  for  his  future.  His  success  as  a  stu- 
dent was  below  the  average  ;  and,  when  he 
began  to  preach  written  sermons  for  criti- 
cism, we  came  near  feeling  that  we  had  lost 
our  labor,  that  his  efforts  would  not  repay 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  91 

the  interest  of  the  money  invested  in  edu- 
cating him.  By  some  who  esteemed  them- 
selves, and  were  esteemed  by  us,  hopeful 
candidates,  we  were  blamed  for  bringing 
reproach  on  the  seminary  by  retaining  such 
men  in  it.  But,  while  he  failed  to  write 
sermons  fit  to  criticise  (the  very  idea  of  criti- 
cism seeming  to  frighten  away  his  clear,  con- 
nected thoughts,  if  he  had  any),  he  had  two 
redeeming  traits,  which  induced  us  to  be 
patient  to  the  end,  and  allow  him  to  gradu- 
ate. He  had  spent  his  winter  vacations  in 
Aghansi,  a  village  upon  Harpoot  plain,  in 
which  a  hopeful  spiritual  work  had  opened. 

These  two  traits  —  plain,  homely  common- 
sense,  enabling  him  to  adapt  himself  to  all 
classes  of  persons,  and  a  burning  zeal  to  lead 
men  to  Christ  —  had  won  at  once  the  hearts 
of  many  of  the  simple-minded  people ;  and 
we  felt  that  such  a  man  should  not,  because 
of  a  little  dullness  in  the  class-room,  be  dis- 


02  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

missed  to  his  saw,  hammer,  and  planes. 
The  result  justified  our  decision.  Called  at 
graduation  to  go  with  his  wife,  a  kindred 
spirit,  to  a  hard  district  of  our  mission-field, 
he  at  once  joyfully  accepted;  his  only  regret 
being,  that  he  could  not  continue  the  good 
work  begun  in  Aghansi,  where  the  people, 
who,  but  a  short  time  before,  had  in  vain 
striven  to  drive  him  from  their  town,  now 
even  more  earnestly  desired  his  coming, 
pledging  a  part  of  his  sup^Dort  from  the  first. 
Located  in  Horhor,  an  Armenian  town  in 
the  midst  of  the  Koordish  mountains,  some 
eighty  miles  north-east  from  Harpoot,  he  had 
about  him,  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles,  a 
large  and  almost  totally  benighted  popula- 
tion of  Armenians  and  Koords,  among  whom, 
for  the  space  of  a  little  less  than  four 
years,  he  labored  with  the  zeal  of  a  Paul, 
seeking  by  all  means  to  win  some  to  Christ. 
And  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  his  labors,  that, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  93 

while  tliey  did  not  result  in  large  accessions 
to  the  nominally  Protestant  ranks,  most  who 
were  won  were  won  to  Christ.  His  was  a 
weeping,  as  well  as  earnest,  ministry.  He 
spent  hours  in  praying  and  weeping  over 
special  cases  of  persons  whom  he  felt  that  he 
must  see  in  the  kingdom. 

One  "  thorn,"  for  the  removal  of  which  he 
besought  the  Lord  more  than  thrice,  were 
two  brothers  in  Horhor,  the  only  nominal 
adherents  of  the  gospel  at  his  arrival  there, 
but  who  he  felt,  and  felt  truly,  were  mere 
Protestants,  not  Christians.  They  felt  that 
they  were  safe,  and  were  loud  mouthed  in 
proclaiming  the  excellences  of  the  new  sys- 
tem ;  while,  by  their  worldly-mindedness, 
covetousness,  and  dislike  of  Bedros'  plain, 
searching  preaching,  they  proclaimed  them- 
selves strangers  to  the  power  of  the  gospel. 
Never  did  we  visit  him  in  his  mountain 
home,   without  bringing   away   cheer   from 


94  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

some  story  of  the  hopeful  conversion  of  some 
one  for  whom  he  had  been  praying  and 
laboring.  It  was  his  pleasure  to  guide  "  old 
Sarah  "  of  Temran  to  Christ,  after  she  had 
been  intellectually  won  to  the  truth.  Among 
others  in  Horhor  for  whose  conversion  he 
labored  and  prayed  specially  was  an  aged 
man.-  At  last  the  poor  old  man  was  taken 
suddenly  ill,  and  at  midnight  sent  for  Be- 
dros,  who,  going  at  once,  found  him  dead, 
with  his  Testament  opened,  and  marked  at  the 
text,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
His  converts  caught  something  of  his  spirit ; 
and  we  hear  of  one  of  them,  who,  having 
labored  to  lead  a  fellow-traveler  to  the 
truth,  at  length  knelt  and  praj^ed  with  him 
by  the  roadside,  and  at  rising  threw  his  arms 
about  him,  exclaiming,  "  Oh,  I  do  so  much 
wish  to  see  you  a  Christian  !  " 

He  won   throughout   all  the   district   the 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  95 

name  of  being  a  saint ;  and  many  who  pro- 
fess to  hate  Protestantism  bear  witness 
that  there  was  one  Cliristian  among  them. 
"  Bedros,"  say  they,  "  was  a  truly  good  man. 
He  was  what  he  professed  to  be."  He  was 
specially  careful  to  consecrate  a  portion  of 
his  earnings  to  the  Lord's  treasury,  and  from 
his  salary  of  ninety-six  dollars  per  annum, 
he,  with  a  family  of  seven  to  support,  paid 
tithes  for  Christian  work ;  though  we  may  as 
well  acknowledge,  that,  when  his  tithes  fell 
into  our  hands,  we  indirectly  turned  them 
back  into  the  treasury  of  the  giver,  as  the 
man  engaged  in  the  most  Christian  work  we 
could  find,  and  most  in  need  of  the  money. 
Of  his  four  sons,  too,  he  consecrated  the 
two  brightest  to  the  special  service  of  Christ 
in  his  ministry,  saying,  "  He  shall  have  the 
best."  In  like  manner,  his  first-born  daugh- 
ter was  specially  set  apart  for  "Christ  to 
use   in  some  way  in  his   ministry."     These 


96  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

three,  lie  felt,  must  have  a  good  education 
to  fit  them  for  tlieir  work ;  and  he  trained 
them  as  if  he  expected  the  consecration  to 
be  accepted. 

And  lie  not  only  taught,  but  lived,  the 
gospel  before  them.  He  always  seemed  full 
of  Christ  and  his  precious  work,  loving  to 
talk  of  nothing  else.  He,  with  more  right 
than  any  one  else  among  our  Christian  labor- 
ers, might  have  uttered  the  sentiments  of 
the  hymn,  — 

"  My  Jesus  shall  still  be  my  theme 
While  on  this  earth  I  stay: 
I'll  sing  my  Jesus'  lovely  name, 
When  all  things  else  decay. 

When  I  appear  in  yonder  cloud, 
With  all  his  favored  throng, 
Then  will  I  sing  more  sweet,  more  loud; 
And  Christ  shall  be  my  song. ' ' 

And  such,  we  doubt  not,  he  is  now.  The 
Master  at  length  removed  the  "  thorn;  "  and 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  97 

in  Bedros'  last  letter  to  us,  dated  July,  1873, 
he  tells  his  joy  in  the  hopeful  conversion 
and  happy  death  of  one  of  the  two  "  Prot- 
estants "  of  Horhor,  and  the  changed  appear- 
ance of  the  other,  tind  of  the  happy  death 
of  one  of  his  sabbath-school  scholars. 

Shortly  after,  he  made  a  missionary  visit 
to  Hopoos,  a  hostile  town  in  which  we  have 
for  years  vainly  tried  to  locate  a  preacher. 
Whether  he  there  had  unusual  excitement 
and  hardship,  we  know  not ;  but  he  returned 
with  fever  upon  him,  which  at  once  assumed 
the  typhus  form,  and  ended  his  life  in  a 
week.  He  at  the  first  told  his  wife  he 
should  die,  and  was  happy  in  the  thought  of 
going,  and  assured  her  that  the  widow's  and 
orphan's  God  would  care  for  her  and  the 
little  ones  ;  and  to  him  he  commended  them. 
There  was  little  time  for  dying  testimony; 
for  the  dread  fever  speedily  asserted  its  full 
power ;  and  happily  there  was  no  need  of  it. 


98  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

His  had  been  an  unmistakable  life-witness. 
And,  while  he  lay  u^Don  his  death-bed  in 
Horhor,  his  father  was,  in  like  manner,  pros- 
trated in  Ichmeh,  having,  like  the  son, 
though  in  a  diiferent  sf)de,  borne  testimony 
to  the  power  of  the  gospel.  Neither,  proba- 
bly, knew  here  of  the  other's  illness,  which 
they  first  learned  from  each  other's  lips  in 
that  world  where  "  there  shall  be  no  more 
death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying,  neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away." 

"  Who  shall  weep  when  the  righteous  die? 
Who  shall  mourn  when  the  good  depart? 
When  the  soul  of  the  godly  away  shall  fly, 
Who  shall  lay  the  loss  to  heart?  " 

"  He  has  gone  in  peace;  he  has  laid  him  down 
To  sleep  tiU  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day; 
And  he  shaU  wake  on  that  holy  morn, 
When  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away." 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  99 


VIII. 

DEACON  HAGOP. 

TN  the  Orient  'tis  sometimes  hard  to  tell 
by  which  of  his  many  names  to  call  a 
man,  who,  like  our  deacon  Hagop  ("  Jacob  "), 
is  an  immigrant,  has  a  trade,  and  happens 
to  have  seen  Jerusalem,  and  won  the  title 
of  Mahdesi  ("  seer  of  the  death "),  or  its 
equivalent  Turkish,  Haji  ("pilgrim  ").  Thus 
the  deacon  was  knoAvn  as  Mahdesi  and  Haji 
Hagop,  Hagop  of  Maden,  (the  place  from 
which  he  emigrated  to  Harpoot),  Saatji 
("  watchmaker  ")  Hagop,  Haji  Agha  ("  pil- 
grim, esquire  "),  a  name  given  by  his  friends 
to  any  one,  Armenian  or  Turk,  who  has  seen 
Jerusalem  or  Mecca,  and  lastly,  in  old  age, 
as  Deacon  Hagop,  and  Haji  Baba  ("  pilgrim 


100  GEACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

father"),  the  latter  a  pet  name  given  him 
b}^  the  Protestant  community. 

The  most  singular  fact  in  regard  to  this 
medley  of  names  is,  that  none  of  them  was 
the  true  one,  which  would  have  been,  in  real 
Scripture  style,  Hagop,  son  of  —  his  father, 
or  grand,  or  some  great-grand  sire,  according 
to  the  taste  of  himself  or  parents.  Here  we 
get  an  inlook  into  the  biblical  style  of  calling 
persons  by  different  names. 

The  time  of  our  hero's  birth  let  some 
Yankee  "  guess "  (we  forgot  to  ask  him  to 
do  it  in  time) ;  the  place,  some  town  of  the 
mountainous  district  lying  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  Euphrates,  to  the  north  of 
Harpoot. 

Those  who,  half  a  century  ago,  were  fer- 
ried over  into  this  region  of  hopeless  oppres- 
sion, to  remain  there,  might  well  recall 
Dante's  awful  inscription  over  the  entrance 
of  his  Inferno ;  for,  with  its  pitiless  oppres- 


GRACE .  ILLUSTRATED.  101 

sion,  its  cruelties   and  hopeless  miseries,  it 
was  indeed  a 

"  Region  of  sorrow,  doleful  shades,  where  peace 
Aiid  rest  could  never  dwell,  hope  never  came, 
That  comes  to  all." 

The  Mohammedan  owners  of  the  soil, 
haughty  despisers  and  fanatical  haters  of  the 
Christian  ryots,  whose  ancestry  had  been 
conquered  and  despoiled  by  the  Moslem 
invaders,  would  neither  suffer  them  to  emi- 
grate, nor  to  enjoy  at  home  any  of  the  rights 
of  manhood.  The  present  inhabitants  tell 
of  the  time,  not  yet  wholly  past  in  the  dark- 
er corners  of  the  district,  when  they  ima- 
gined they  had  been  born  only  to  be  tied  up 
by  the  hands,  and  beaten  at  the  bidding  of 
their  oppressors ;  and  I  have  myself  seen  the 
bruised  and  blackened  body  of  a  poor  victim 
who  had  died  under  blows  thus  inflicted  by 
a  fellow  Christian,  at  the  bidding  of  their 
Turkish  master,  for  a  slight  offense. 


102  GKACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

From  this  region,  while  little  Hagop  was 
yet  an  infant,  his  parents,  leaving  all  behind, 
escaped  to  Maden,  then  the  capital  of  the 
Harpoot  district.  His  own  memory  did  not 
reach  back  to  those  days  of  fear  and  flight ; 
but  some  modern  scenes  on  the  same  road 
aid  us  in  vividly  picturing  the  anxiety  and 
alarm  of  the  fleeing  familj",  especially  as  they 
neared  the  ferry,  where,  to  this  day,  families 
not  evidently  under  powerful  protection  are 
obliged  to  pay  illegal  and  exorbitant  toll  to 
the  ferrymen  for  the  privilege  of  escape 
from  this  land  of  bondage. 

The  penalty  of  failure  to  satisfy  this 
rapacity  ^vould  have  been  betrayal  into  the 
hands  of  their  pursuers.  Nor,  in  escaping 
to  the  capital  town,  had  they  escaped  from 
scenes  of  oppression  and  bloodshed.  At 
least,  so  thought  young  Jacob,  when,  day 
after  day,  he  saw  the  bloody  cimeter  sever 
the   heads   of    victims    innocent    or  guilty, 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  103 

according  as  the  whim  took  the  pasha  and 
his  brother  rulers,  till  the  work  of  blood 
reached  a  climax  in  a  rebelUon,  and  the  roll- 
ing of  some  threescore  and  ten  heads  down 
the  Euphrates'  banks  together,  —  whether 
for  real  rebellion,  or  to  inspire  fear  among 
supposed  would-be  rebels,  is  imcertain. 
This,  however,  was  the  end  of  Maden's  day 
as  capital,  the  chief  vestiges  of  whose  former 
glory  are  now  scores  of  roofless  houses,  and 
a  still  greater  number  of  pretentious  tombs 
of  big  Turks  of  the  olden  time,  few  if  any 
of  whose  posterity  remain  ;  for  the  central- 
ization of  the  rebellion  in  Harpoot,  under  the 
leadership  of  a  pasha's  widow,  led  the  ruling 
pasha  hither  with  his  army,  where  he  felt 
compelled  to  remain,  thus  making  this  city  — 
or  rather  the  village  of  Llezereh,  three  miles 
to  the  south  —  the  new  capital  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  leaving  Maden  to  sink  to  its 
present  obscurity. 


10-1  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

We  know  not  whether  any  of  Hagop's 
relatives  survived  to  accompany  him  and  the 
emigrating  multitude  who  came  to  gather 
about  the  rulers,  and  feed  upon  government 
crumbs  in  and  about  the  new  capital.  Suf- 
fice it  to  sa}^,  none  remain ;  nor  have  any 
been  seen  since  the  days  of  missionary  occu- 
pation, beginning  about  twentj^  years  ago. 
Here  Mr.  Dunmore,  the  first  missionary, 
found  him,  a  man  of  some  threescore  3"ears, 
and  soon  had  the  joy  of  welcoming  him  to 
the  circle  of  gospel  believers,  — a  joy  which, 
to  the  day  of  his  death,  the  convert  in- 
creased by  a  steadfast  adhesion  to  the  truth, 
and  an  ever  increasing  clearness  of  Christian 
experience. 

And  there  was  room  for  growth ;  for 
though  a  saint,  he  was  not  at  first,  even  if 
he  subsequently  became,  a  perfect  one.  One 
sadly  prominent  stain,  which  was  only 
washed   away   by  his   being    providentially 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  105 

made  to  pass  througli  deep  waters  of  afflic- 
tion in  the  line  of  Lis  sin,  was  that  of  nig- 
gardhness.  Ivever  can  the  writer  forget  the 
stingy  positiveness  with  which,  though  then 
in  receipt  of  an  ample  salary  from  the  mis- 
sionary treasury,  as  bookseller,  he  protested 
his  utter  inability  to  pay  more  than  six  cents 
a  month  towards  the  salary  of  the  pastor 
they  were  about  to  settle.  But  we  shall  see, 
in  due  time,  how  all  this  was  changed,  and 
he  made  meet  for  that  world  into  which 
no  sordid  soul  shall  ever  enter.  Like  most 
men  of  his  class,  he  was  extremely  narrow 
minded ;  and  like  too  many,  who,  though 
saved  by  grace,  fail  to  secure  a  generous, 
broad,  intelligent  Christian  culture,  he  re- 
mained to  the  last  a  man  of  somewhat  narrow 
views.  Thank  God,  we  shall  all  have  plenty 
of  room,  time,  and  means  for  the  largest 
growth  up  there,  where  years  ago  our  old 
pilgrim  began  effectively  his  work  of  large 
development. 


106  GEACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

It  hardly  need  be  said,  that,  like  all  the 
rest  of  his  people  in  those  days,  he  was  very 
ignorant.  But  this  lack  of  book-culture  per- 
haps aided,  rather  than  hindered,  the  devel- 
opment of  a  native  shrewdness  which  often 
stood  him  in  good  stead  in  time  of  need. 

Of  this  he  gave  a  good  specimen  when 
once  a  government  defaulter,  who  denied  his 
debt,  was  brought  for  trial  before  the  court 
of  which  he  was  a  member.  As,  in  the 
absence  of  proof  to  fix  the  debt  upon  him, 
the  man  was  about  to  take  the  customary 
oath,  denying  it,  Hagop  requested  that  the 
case  be  left  to  him.  Then  —  saying  to  the 
man,  "  I  am  about  to  swear  you  on  this  Book 
of  God,  and  if,  with  your  hand  on  this,  you 
tell  a  lie,  neither  can  the  priest  pardon  you 
in  this  world,  nor  will  God  in  the  next ;  for 
you  will  be  guilty  of  blasphemy  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  will  be  for  ever  lost  "  —  he 
bade  him  place  his  hand  on  the  volume,  and 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  107 

said,  "  Tell  me,  do  you  owe  this  money,  or 
not  ?  "  —  "I  do,"  said  tlie  frightened  debtor ; 
and  the  government  got  its  dues.  Would 
that  some  such  new  and  effective  form  of 
oath  might  be  discovered  for  defaulters  else- 
where I  Two  Oriental  notions  were  firmly 
fixed  in  his  mind,  —  one,  that  the  wife  should 
implicitly  obey  her  husband  in  all  things ; 
and,  second,  that,  on  the  death  of  one  wife, 
the  afflicted  husband  should  make  haste  to 
honor  her  memory,  and  console  his  grief,  by 
taking  another. 

Unfortunately,  his  first  wife,  who  was  a 
model  of  obedience,  died,  and,  to  our  surprise, 
late  one  evening,  a  few  days  after  her  death, 
he  came  in,  and  in  a  hasty,  excited  way,  said 
to  Mr.  Dunmore,  "  I  have  found  a  woman. 
Come  at  once  and  marry  me." 

But  alas  !  "  Marry  in  haste,  and  repent  at 
leisure,"  had  an  illustration  in  his  case  ;  for 
the  woman  so  hastily  chosen  proved  to  be 


108  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

more  of  a  means  of  grace  than  a  saint,  and 
sorely  tried  the  good  old  man's  patience. 

"  Ah !  "  said  he  sadly  one  day,  "  why  is  it 
that  all  missionaries'  wives  are  angels  ?  Mine 
is  very  disobedient.  Do  come  over,  and 
exhort  her  to  obey  me."  But,  fearing  that 
our  Socrates  was  probably  not  a  faultless 
husband,  we  declined  to  exhort  his  Xantippe  ; 
and  to  the  day  of  his  death  she  helped  him 
to  grow  in  the  grace  of  patience. 

Against  his  continuing  in  his  business  as 
bookseller  for  the  missionaries,  there  were 
two  valid  objections,  —  one,  his  utter  inability 
to  be  convinced  of  the  reasonableness  of  the 
rule  requiring  payment  in  full  for  books  at 
time  of  sale.  This  inability  was,  however, 
removed  by  another  rule  overpowering  a 
weaker  part  of  his  nature,  according  to  which 
he  paid  for  all  books  sold.  He  lost  about 
two  dollars  in  this  way,  and  then  learned, 
that,  by  trying,  he  could  say  "  No  "  to  an 
importunate,  impecunious  purchaser. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  109 

A  second  and  insurmountable  objection 
was  the  feeling  of  the  new  missionaries,  that 
bookselhng  should  not  be  confined  to  one  or 
any  limited  number  of  salaried  men,  nor  to 
such  "  spiritual  loafing  and  smoking  shops," 
as  observation  showed  the  tendency  of  Ori- 
ental bookshops  to  be,  but  that  all  who  pro- 
fessed to  love  the  Cible  should  personally 
and  gratuitously  aid  in  selling  it.  It  is  the 
resolute  carrying-out  of  this  principle  which 
has  resulted  in  scattering  so  many  thousands 
of  good  books  in  this  mission-field,'  and  pro- 
duced outside  the  very  mistaken  impression, 

that,  in  Harpoot,  people  are  so  hungry  for  the 

• 
Word,  that  Bibles  "sell  themselves."     Sore 

*  The  following  books  have  been  sold  from  the  Har- 
poot book  depository  during  the  past  seventeen  years :  — 
Bibles  in  different  lanj^nages  .        .        .        .  4,250 
Portions  of  Scripture  in  different  languages  .  20,G00 

Other  religious  volumes 39,233 

School-books 23,816 

Total 87,809 


110  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

was  the  affliction  of  the  poor  bookseller,  as, 
by  the  force  of  this  new  idea,  he  saw  rivals 
rising  up  to  take  away  his  trade  ;  and  when, 
at  length,  his  monthly  sales  were  reduced  to 
less  than  a  dollar,  and  he  got  the  courage  to 
protest  against  the  "  new  notion,"  which 
threatened  to  deprive  him  at  once  of  both 
his  bread,  and  his  joy  in  selling  the  Book,  we, 
too,  took  courage  to  say,  "  You  see  that  the 
work  can  be  more  cheaply  and  effectively 
done  in  this  way,"  and  to  propose  to  him  to 
give  up  his  bookshop  cushion,  and  go  into 
active  service. 

In  this  he  was  employed  chiefly  as  a  trav- 

* 

eling  evangelist,  proving  himself  earnest  and 
efficient,  going  on  horseback  from  place  to 
place,  till,  in  1861,  he  with  his  horse  fell 
over  an  embankment,  causing  such  injuries 
as  unfitted  him  for  active  service ;  and  as 
failing  eyesight  prevented  his  return  to  his 
early   trade   of    repairing   watches,  and   we 


GRACE  ILLUSTKATED.  Ill 

could  not  again  employ  him  in  bookselling, 
he  was  without  visible  means  of  support. 
In  vain  did  we  secure  a  supply  of  "  Yankee 
notions "  in  Oriental  demand,  hoping,  that, 
by  the  profits  on  their  sale,  the  good  old  man 
might  earn  his  bread. 

"Yankee  notions"  are  one  thing  in  the 
hands  of  a  Yankee,  and  another  and  very 
different  thing  in  those  of  an  unpractical  Ori- 
ental like  Deacon  Hagop.  The  result  was,  that 
what  "  notions "  he  didn't  eat  were  sold  at 
cost ;  and  selling  his  house,  and  removing  to 
a  cheaper  one,  he  decided  to  "  wait  upon  the 
Lord."  This  he  did  with  the  simple,  clinging 
faith  of  a  little  child.  In  vain  did  his  old 
friends  gather  about  him,  saying,  "  See  how 
these  missionaries  treat  you  in  your  old  age ! 
Come  back  to  the  Armenian  Church,  and  we 
will  support  you." 

His  uniform  reply  was,  "  I  have  put  my 
trust  in  the  Lord  ;  and,  though  he  slay  me,  I 


112  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

will  continue  to  trust  in  liim.  But  I  do  not 
believe  lie  ^Yill  forsake  me."  We  all  com- 
mended his  case  to  Him  who  inspired  the 
utterance,  "  I  have  been  young,  and  now  am 
old,  yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  for- 
saken, nor  his  seed  begging  bread."  And 
who  can  say  that  the  result  was  not  a  direct 
and  striking  answer  to  prayer  ? 

A  letter  by  Mr.  Barnum,  giving  some  facts 
of  the  case,  found  its  way  to  an  English 
magazine,  a  copy  of  which,  in  like  manner, 
"  found  its  way  "  into  the  hands  of  an  Eng- 
lish-speaking Dutchman  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  whose  sympathies  were  so  moved, 
that  he  at  once  collected  quite  a  sum  of 
money,  a  bank-check  for  which  he  inclosed 
to  Mr.  Barnum,  addressing  the  letter  to  him 
at  Harpoot.  On  reaching  Turkey,  its  English 
direction  was,  of  course,  useless  ;  and  the  post- 
masters sent  it  hither  and  thither  in  search 
of  a  foreiorn  claimant.     The  annual  meeting 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  113 

of  the  Mission  to  Eastern  Turkey,  with, 
which  Harpoot  is  connected,  being  in  session 
in  Bitlis,  distant  from  Harpoot  about  ten 
days  direct,  but  about  a  month  by  post  (!) 
Mr.  Barnum  had  just  presented  the  case  of 
Hagop  for  consultation,  when  the  post 
arrived  -with  the  letter  and  money  in  search 
of  the  long-sought  claimant.  One  sentence 
of  its  quaint  English  was,  "  If  the  Lord 
Jesus  thinks  ivell  of  it,  I  desire  thus  to  sup- 
port Hagop  as  long  as  he  shall  live."  "We 
feared  to  tell  the  aged  pilgrim  this  promise, 
lest  he  should  be  overmuch  tempted  to  put 
his  trust  in  man.  He  knew  that  He  in  whom 
he  trusted  sent  him  some  eight  dollars  month 
b}^  month ;  and  he  believed  that  he  would  do 
it  to  the  last.  He  loved  his  human  bene- 
factor, and  wrote  him  letters,  which  we 
translated  and  forwarded ;  and  the  promise 
to  support  him,  if  Jesus  thought  well  of  it, 
was  made  good.    Of  the  last  remittance,  only 


114  GKACE  ILLT7STRATED. 

enough  was  left  to  pay  the  expense  of  his 
funeral,  and  place  a  plain  granite  stone  to 
mark  his  grave.  Much  to  our  disappoint- 
ment, though  we  subsequently  repeatedly 
wrote  to  our  Dutch  fi'iend,  no  response  has 
come. 

It  was  during  these  years  of  patient  wait- 
ing and  trusting,  that  the  fruits  of  grace 
abounded,  to  the  continually  increasing  ex- 
clusion of  nature's  weeds.  He  who,  in  the 
time  of  prosperity,  had  grudgingly  pledged 
six  cents  a  month  for  Christ's  cause,  now,  in 
sickness  and  poverty,  when  living  by  faith, 
gladly,  and  unsolicited,  gave  many  times  the 
amount. 

Then  he  seemed  to  feel  what  before  he 
had  only  said^  that  he  and  all  his  belonged 
to  Christ ;  and  his  niggardliness  was  all 
gone.  In  his  soul,  expanded,  illumined, 
and  purified  by  divine  grace,  it  could  find 
no  corner  dark  and  foul  enouQ'h  to  hide  its 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  115 

execrable  shape.  The  nearer  he  felt  the  end 
of  his  earthly  labors  to  be,  the  dearer  to  him 
were  those  for  whom  he  had  labored. 

Not  long  before  his  last  illness,  feeling 
that  he  had  strength  for  such  a  journey,  if 
taken  slowly,  he  said,  "  I  must  go  again,  and 
visit  my  brethren  in  every  city  where  I  have 
preached  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  see  how 
they  do."  Extending  his  tour  beyond  the 
bounds  of  our  own  field,  he  visited  Bitlis 
and  Erzroom,  confirming  the  brethren, 
being  received  by  all  with  that  respect  and 
affection  which  his  venerable  appearance, 
and  Saint-John-like  Christian  character  and 
exhortations,  were  fitted  to  secure.  Return- 
ing, he  felt  that  his  earthly  service  was 
nearly  ended,  and  not  long  afterwards 
retired  to  his  sick-room,  to  wait,  a  patient 
sufferer,  for  the  hour  of  his  release. 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate 
Is  privileged  above  the  common  walks  of  life;  " 

and  so  pre-eminently  was  his. 


116  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

Among  this  people,  all  means,  honest  and 
dishonest,  are  resorted  to,  to  conceal  from  a 
dying  man  the  fact  of  death's  approach,  lest 
his  terror  and  distress  hasten,  the  hour  of  his 
departure.  And  such  is  the  popular  dread 
of  all  of  death's  surroundings,  that  the  body 
of  one  who  dies  too  late  in  the  day  for  the 
usual  hurried  burial  must  be  at  least  hastily 
wrapped  in  the  customary  shroud,  and  hur- 
ried off  to  the  church,  to  be  ready  for  the 
early  morning  burial.  But  here  was  one, 
who,  to  all  his  old  companions  (who  came  in 
numbers  to  see  him),  not  only  predicted  his 
speedy  departure,  but  assured  them  that  he 
was  joyful  in  the  thought  of  going.  In  the 
intervals  between  his  asthmatic  sufferings, 
he  tried  to  point  them  to  Him  whose  grace 
had  thus  removed  the  fear  and  dread  of 
death,  and  exhorted  them  to  secure  him  as  a 
friend  for  their  own  coming  time  of  need. 

Besides  himself,  but  one  in  that  white- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  117 

bearded  company — "the  aged  auctioneer" 
—  had  been  united  with  the  httle  company 
of  gospel  believers ;  and  those  death-bed 
exhortations,  even,  seemed  to  make  but 
little  permanent  impression.  Some  thought 
him  beside  himself;  others  listened  in  incred- 
ulous amazement ;  while  others  felt  and 
wept,  and  went  away,  and  forgot  it  all. 
They  came,  indeed,  as  he  had  requested,  and 
sat  around  his  coffin  on  his  burial  day,  and 
wept  again,  as  we  sung  the  hj'mn  he  had 
selected, — 

"  Come  sing  to  me  of  heaven 
TMien  I'm  about  to  die: 
Sing  songs  of  holy  ecstasy, 
To  waft  my  soul  on  high. 
There'll  be  no  sorrow  there, 
There'll  be  no  sorrow  there: 
In  heaven  above,  where  all  is  love, 
There'll  be  no  sorrow  there!  " 

But  to  this  hour,  those  yet  alive,  whose  tears 


118  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

then  fell  fastest,  are  apparently  most  stony- 
hearted, and  least  likely  to  follo\y  him  up 
the  shining  way.  So  true  it  is,  that  for  the 
Ethiopian  to  change  his  skin,  and  the  leop- 
ard his  spots,  is  impossible  with  men,  possi- 
ble only  to  Him  whose  word  can  raise  the 
dead,  and  who  saves  from  the  company  of 
white-haired  rebels  only  enough  to  illustrate 
and  verify  the  reality  and  power  of  his 
almighty  grace. 

Such  was  the  nature  of  his  disease  as  to 
compel  him  to  spend  day  and  night  in  a  sit- 
ting posture,  and  that  often  in  the  keenest 
torture.  After  his  paroxysms  of  distress,  he 
would  point  up,  and  say,  "  There  is  no 
coughing  up  there  ;  no  coughing  up  there !  " 
"  I  am  going  to  a  wedding,  to  the  marriage- 
supper  of  the  Lamb,"  were  the  last  words 
the  writer  heard  him  utter ;  and  soon  he  did 
join  the  company  of  the  redeemed,  continu- 
ing to  the  last  patient,  peaceful,  full  of  joy. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  119 

A  weeping  company  bore  Ms  remains  to 
the  grave  which  he  had  dug  beside  that  of 
his  wife,  and  placed  over  it  the  gray  granite 
block   he   had  prepared   to  mark  the  spot. 

The  Word  was  read,  a  hymn  sung,  and 
prayer  made,  and  we  left  him  to  wait  the 
resurrection  morn,  feeling,  as  we  came  away, 
that  the  Master  scatters  such  life  and  death 
scenes  here  and  there  along  our  pathway,  to 
prevent  our  weak  faith  from  failing  in  the 
hard,  ungrateful  work  we  have  to  do.  It 
was  said  above,  that  the  good  man  loved  his 
Dutch  benefactor.  To  some,  this  statement 
may  seem  so  necessarily  true  as  to  be  un- 
necessary, and  still  more  uncalled  for  the 
statement,  that,  to  the  last,  he  was  grateful 
to  those  who  had  made  him  acquainted 
with  the  gospel ;  not  merely  to  that  always 
admired  benefactor,  "  the  Board,"  around 
which  gathers  the  halo  of  ethereal,  distant 
beneficence,  but  also  to  its  seen,  human  rep- 


120  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

resentatives,  the  missionaries,  witli  their 
many  real,  and  more  imagined,  imperfec- 
tions. 

AVe  devoutly  hope  that  the  experience  of 
missionaries  to  real  heathen  may  be  different 
from  that  of  most  who  labor  for  "  nominal 
Christians ;  "  but  that  those  who,  if  hungry, 
would  be  grateful  to  any  passer-by  who 
should  give  them  a  piece  of  bread,  or  a 
bowl  of  soup,  are  frequently  increasingly 
ungrateful  to  those  who  have  brought  them 
the  bread  and  the  water  of  life,  is  a  fact 
explainable  by  no  philosophy  but  that  of 
the  perverse  inconsistency  of  poor  human 
nature.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  missiona- 
ries, instead  of  remaining  to  labor  for  the 
permanent  planting  of  Christian  institutions, 
should  simply  proclaim  the  gospel,  and  pass 
along,  not  waiting  for  the  ingratitude  and 
abuse  of  those  apparently  most  blessed  (!) 
by  it  ?    It  would  sometimes  seem  that  grati- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  121 

tude,  called  by  some  one  a  "plant  of  slow 
growth,"  seldom  finds  room  and  soil  for 
growing  in  the  newly  enlightened  adult 
soul  in  this  world.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the 
heart  of  the  missionary  in  this  land  is  oftener 
saddened  by  reproachful  demands  for  un- 
received  benefits  than  cheered  by  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  those  bestowed.  And 
those  proposing  to  enter  upon  the  work 
may  as  well  be  forewarned.  But  let  them, 
also,  be  fore-armed  by  the  assurance  that  here 
and  there  some  life  or  death  scene  will  be 
so  radiant  with  the  luster  of  divine  grace 
as  to  cause  to  be  forgotten  all  the  gloom 
and  sadness  which  follow  even  the  most 
trying  exhibitions  of  human  imperfection 
and  sin. 

In  the  missionary  scale,  the  enjoyment 
of  one  growing,  grateful  saint,  outweighs 
the  trial  of  a  score  of  complaining  ones; 
and   the    Master,    if   we   trust   his   promise, 


122  GKACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

will  take  care,  that,  in  addition  to  his  own 
blessed  presence,  the  supply  of  visible, 
tangible  cheer,  shall  abound  to  those  who 
need  it  —  as  who  of  us  does  not  at  times  ? 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  123 


IX. 

THE  BROKEN  VOW. 

QOME  twelve  years  ago,  a  copy  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  modern  tongue, 
found  its  way  into  the  hands  of  a  tailor,  a 
"  reader  "  in  one  of  the  Armenian  churches 
in  Harpoot,  and  stirred  within  him  new  and 
strange  thoughts,  —  questionings  concerning 
his  own  religious  experience  and  that  of 
those  about  him.  These  questions  he  used 
to  commit  to  writing  for  further  thought 
and  examination ;  and  once,  when  a  mission- 
ary called  at  his  home,  the  question-paper 
was  brought  out  to  aid  in  seeking  the  light 
he  needed.  Finding  two  other  young  men, 
who,  with  him,  felt  an  interest  in  studying 
the  new  book,  they  three  became  especially 


124  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

earnest  in  the  worship  of  their  church, 
being  desirous  even  of  having  the  people 
leave,  and  close  the  church-doors  upon  them, 
that  they  might  have  longer  space  for  united 
worship. 

These  companions  both  died  ;  one  appar- 
ently being  prepared  for  death,  leaving  the 
young  tailor  still  feeling  his  way  toward 
full  gospel  light  and  liberty. 

A  Protestant  meeting  being  opened  in 
his  ward  of  the  city,  he,  after  many  ques- 
tionings, concluded  to  go  for  once.  To  his 
surprise,  he  found  that  these  innovators 
talked  well  and  truly,  raising  just  the  ques- 
tions which  had  been  troubling  him,  and 
professing  to  answer  them.  He  was  so 
troubled  by  this,  and  alarmed,  lest  they 
should  steal  his  affections  from  his  own 
church,  that  he  went,  and,  kneeling  before 
the  altar,  made  a  solemn  vow  never  to  sepa- 
rate  from   her   communion.      Having    thus 


GEACE   rLLUSTEATED.  125 

fortified  his  resolutions,  and  made  his  posi- 
tion safe  from  Protestant  attack,  he  con- 
tinued to  attend  their  meetings,  where,  to 
his  dismay,  he  found  that  even  his  oath- 
bound  resolutions  were  like  the  vow  of 
darkness  to  withstand  mid-day  light,  or  of 
a  lump  of  ice  to  resist  the  noonday  sun.  He 
saw,  that,  to  hold  to  his  purpose,  he  must 
escape  from  the  light  and  heat  which  ra- 
diated from  the  open  Bible  on  the  Protes- 
tant pulpit. 

Again  he  knelt  before  the  altar  with  the 
feeling,  "  I  must  be  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
Which  shall  it  be?  Did  I  do  right  in 
making  that  vow  ?  and  is  it  binding  upon 
me  ?  "  There,  alone  with  his  God,  he  settled 
the  question  in  the  negative.  Not  only  was 
the  vow  not  binding  upon  his  conscience, 
but  he  had  done  wrong  in  making  it.  From 
that  hour,  he  was  a  recognized  adherent  of 
the  evangelical  party,  and,  with  his  family, 
was  always  present  at  the  meetings. 


126  GEACE   nXUSTRATED. 

And  not  only  so  much,  but  saj-ing  to  him- 
self, "  These  services  cost  something,  and 
I  should  pay  my  part  towards  them,"  he 
sought  out  the  treasurer,  and  entered  his 
name  among  the  subscribers  for  the  pastor's 
salary.  With  such  principles,  and  such 
a  beginning,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  was 
speedily  known  as  a  leading  member  of  the 
church,  nor  that,  when  a  successor  was 
needed  for  "  Deacon  Hagop,"  hands  were 
laid  upon  the  head  of  Kineose,  and  that  he 
has  been,  and  still  is,  one  of  the  chief  pillars 
of  the  church. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  127 


X. 

ONE    OF  GOD'S   HmDEN   ONES. 

BY   MISS     HATTIE    SEYMOUR. 

T entered    the    female    seminary,    we 

can  not  say  definitely  at  what  age ; 
though,  when  asked  how  old  she  was,  she 
replied,  "  Sixty."  Her  teacher  laughed,  and 
told  her  that  was  impossible.     "  Well,"  said 

J ,  "  perhaps  I   am  fifty."     As  she  only 

guessed  at  her  age,  we  may  be  allowed  to 
do  the  same ;  and  probably  a  more  correct 
estimate  would  be,  that  forty  summers  had 
passed  over  her  head.  She  is  a  woman  of 
gentle  spirit,  kind  in  feeling  and  manner. 

She  did  not  know  her  letters  when  she 
entered  school ;  and  to  learn  to  read  at  her 
age  seemed  a  most  formidable  undertaking. 


128  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

She  began  aip,  pen,  Mm  (a,  b,  c)  with  a 
good  will ;  but  as  day  after  day  passed,  and, 
notwithstanding  her  hard  work  over  her 
lessons,  she  did  not  make  much  progress,  she 
said  to  her  teacher,  "  I  can  never  learn  to 
read.  My  mind  has  never  been  worked,  and 
my  brain  is  thick.  I  study  away  at  the  first 
letter  till  I  think  I  have  learned  it,  and  then 
try  the  second;  but,  when  I  turn  back  to 
the  first,  I  have  forgotten  its  name." 

As  day  after  day,  sad  and  discouraged, 
she  repeated  her  conviction  to  her  teacher, 
that  she  should  never  learn  to  read,  she  was 
advised  to  try  this  plan,  —  never  to  open  her 
book  to  study,  without  first  silently  lifting 
her  heart  in  prayer,  that  her  mind  might  be 
quickened,  and  that  God  would  send  down 
special  grace  to  help  her  remember.  The 
answer  to  her  prayers  seemed  almost  a 
mkacle.     'Tis  faith  that 

"  Laughs  at  impossibilities, 
And  cries,  '  It  shall  be  done.'  " 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  129 

And  simple  faitli  and  prayer    brouglit    a 

daily    supply    of    strength    to    poor   J , 

which  carried  her  triumphantly  through 
the  primer  her  first  year  in  school.  It  was 
pleasant  to  see  her  happy  face  as  she  entered 
the  second  year,  bearing  her  New  Testament 
reverently  in  her  hands.  Her  reading  was 
not  now  a  mere  lesson  to  her.  She  sat  one 
day  in  the  class  with  several  other  women, 
one  of  whom  read  Matthew's  account  of  our 
Lord's  crucifixion.  There  was  some  familiar 
talk   about   the  "  old,  old   story ;"  and  then 

J was  called,  in  her  turn,  to  read.     She 

rose  slowly,  and,  with  averted  face,  took 
her  seat  by  her  teacher,  but,  instead  of  read- 
ing, bowed  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  was 
evidently  trying  to  suppress  her  sobs. 
"  Why,  J ,"  her  teacher  asked  in  sur- 
prise, "  what  is  the  matter ? "  —  "I  can 
never  hear  that  story  of  Christ's  death," 
she  said,  "  without  crying."     Happy  J ! 

9 


130  GEACE  ILLTTSTEATED. 

Well  might  one,  who,  from  a  child,  had 
known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  envy  you  the 
freshness  and  tenderness  of  your  feelings, 
and  feel  that  the  teacher  should  sit  at  the 
pupil's  feet,  and  learn  of  liim. 

The  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  just  after 

the  opening  of  J 's  second  year  in  school, 

was  one  of  tender  interest.  Those  present 
in  the  morning  prayer-meeting  will  not  soon 
forget  J 's  face,  working  with  deep  emo- 
tion, as  she  said  with  tremulous  voice,  "  I 
want  you  all  to  pray  for  me.  I  am  weak ;  I 
don't  know  any  thing ;  I  am  very  bad ;  but 
I  want  to  be  a  Christian."  Later  in  the  day, 
her  deep  contrition  had  another  element 
mingled  with  it ;  and  the  burden  of  her  heart 
and  words  seemed  to  be,  — 

*'  I'm  a  poor  sinner,  and  nothing  at  all; 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  all  in  all." 

And    afterwards,   whenever    inquiry  was 


GEACE  ILLFSTEATED.  101 

made  as  to  whether  she  still  loved  and 
trusted  Christ,  she  answered  with  the 
simplicity  of  a  child,  that  she  was  sure  she 
did,  "  And  why  are  you  so  sure  ?  "  she  was 
once  asked.  "  Because,"  she  said,  laying  her 
hand  upon  her  heart,  "  I  feel  such  a  warmth 
here  whenever  I  think  of  him."  "Blessed 
are  the  meek  and  single-hearted,"  says 
Thomas  A  Kempis  ;  "  for  they  shall  possess 
the  abundance  of  peace." 


132  GEACE  ILLUSTKATED. 


XI. 

THE   LITTLE  HUMPBACK. 

"IVTEAR  the  city  of  Arabkir,  nestled  among 
the  Anti-Taurus  Mountains,  is  the 
■wretched  little  village  of  Sh^pik.  Poverty- 
seems  written  over  every  door ;  but  this  is 
the  place  where  blind  John  Concordance 
first  preached  his  "  Tithe  Sermon,"  which  so 
aroused  the  poor,  simple-minded  Protestants 
of  the  village,  that  each  male  with  willing 
heart  consecrated  the  tenth  of  all  his  gains 
to  the  Lord's  service.  The  influence  of  this 
sermon  could  not  be  shut  up  here ;  but  the 
blind  preacher  was  invited  to  preach  it  in 
other  places,  and  many  were  convinced  by 
his  strong  arguments  that  they  had  been 
robbing  the  Master's  treasury. 


GBACE  ILLUSTRATED.  133* 

More  than  twenty  years  before  this  revival 
of  giving  the  "Lord's  tenth"  in  Shepik,  a 
little  girl  was  born  in  one  of  these  humble 
homes.  Her  parents  gave  her  the  beautiful 
name,  Kohar  ("  Jewel  ").  I  know  not  why 
they  gave  her  this  name ;  for  when  she  grew 
up  she  was  neither  handsome  in  features,  nor 
comely  in  form,  for  she  was  humpbacked. 
This  deformity  may  have  been  caused  by 
some  injury  in  her  childhood ;  but  the  par- 
ticulars we  know  not.  We  first  hear  of 
Kohar  as  the  "  bright  little  humpback," 
who  had  run  away  from  her  Shepik  home  to 
Arabkir,  to  see  the  missionaries  ;  or,  rather, 
had  tried  to  d?o  so. 

She  heard  in  her  village  that  some  "  In- 
glese  "  had  come  to  Arabkir,  a  city  only  six 
miles  away. 

The  neighbors  came  in  to  talk  about 
these  men  with  a  "  new  religion,"  who  "  kept 
no  fasts,"  and  never  "  kissed  the  earth  "  in 


134  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

their  worshiping.  The  priests  shook  their 
heads,  and  warned  their  flocks  to  beware  of 
these  "  deceivers  coming  in  these  last  days," 
these  "  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing."  Each 
new-comer  from  the  city  had  some  new 
thing  to  tell  about  the  Protestants.  "  These 
people  bring  the  Bible,  and  urge  old  and 
young  to  read  it,  even  the  women.  They 
open  schools,  too,  for  both  boys  and  girls. 
They  give  much  honor  to  their  wives, 
walking  with  them  in  the  streets,  and  per- 
mitting them  to  enter  a  house  first." 

Little  Kohar  was  greatly  delighted  with 
all  these  things ;  and  she  believed  that  such 
people  could  not  be  as  wicked  as  her  priest 
thought  them  to  be.  She  was  greatly 
troubled.  Her  priest  was  God's  chosen  ser- 
vant. She  had  been  baptized  by  him.  He 
could  read  the  holy  Bible,  and  the  books  of 
the  fathers ;  and  he  said  these  Protes  were 
"  bad,  wicked  men."     But  the  others  read 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  135 

tlie  Bible  too ;  and  they  have  schools,  and 
try  to  teach  people  to  read  the  Bible  for 
themselves. 

The  jewel  covered  up  in  the  rubbish 
began  to  shine  a  little.  This  little  girl 
longed  for  more  knowledge.  "  Why  should 
not  she  read  the  Bible  for  herself,  and  see 
what  was  written  in  that  holy  book  sent 
down  from  God?  These  foreign  women 
could  read,  and  God  had  not  struck  them 
dead  for  their  impiety ;  but  they  were 
trying  to  teach  other  women  to  read  also." 
Her  thirst  for  knowledge  overcame  all  her 
fears  ;  and  she  resolved  to  visit  these  stran- 
gers, and  see  for  herself  what  kind  of  people 
they  were. 

Poor  child  !  What  can  she  do  ?  She  is 
only  a  girl,  and  can  not  go  so  far  alone.  Her 
parents  would  not  consent  to  let  her  go, 
even  if  some  one  would  take  her  to  these 
people.     She  had  never  been  taught  to  pray 


136  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

to  Jesus  to  help  her,  and  show  her  the  right 
way ;  and  would  the  "  Blessed  Virgin " 
help,  when  she  wished  to  go  to  the  very 
people  who  said  it  was  wrong  to  pray  to 
Mary  ?  The  desire  filled  her  whole  soul ; 
and  she  forgot  all  her  fears,  forg-ot  her  weak 
back,  and  started  to  go  alone  to  Arabkir. 
Her  mother  soon  learned  that  she  had  run 
away,  and  hastened  to  the  priest's  house, 
and  begged  him  to  help  her  rescue  her  child. 
They  went  in  pursuit,  and  soon  overtook 
the  poor  girl,  and  led  her  back  by  her  hair, 
that  hung  in  long  braids  upon  her  shoulders. 
The  missionary  at  Arabkir,  hearing  of  this, 
visited  Shepik,  and  sought  out  Kohar.  He 
was  pleased  with  her  earnestness,  and  felt 
that  God  was  calling  her  to  a  higher  service 
than  the  work  in  her  poor  village ;  but  he 
told  her  she  must  not  disobey  her  parents, 
and  run  away.  "  The  Bible  tells  us  to  obey 
our  parents.     You  must  pray  to  the  God  of 


KOHAR,    (Little  Humpback. 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  137 

this  holy  Bible,  Kohar;  and  he  will  hear 
you,  and  open  a  way  for  you  to  come  to  the 
school  at  Arabkir,  where  you  can  learn  to 
read  the  Bible  for  yourself." 

I  have  no  doubt  that  she  daily  prayed  for 
this  one  great  desire  of  her  heart ;  and  God 
in  heaven  heard  the  little  humpback's 
prayer  ;  for  the  work  in  Arabkir  prospered. 
Many  were  those  who  sought  the  new  light, 
and  were  themselves  enlightened,  and  went 
out  to  seek  others,  that  they,  too,  might  come 
and  see,  and  believe  for  themselves.  This 
light  had  entered  the  city ;  and,  even  though 
many  had  risen  up  against  it,  it  eould  not 
be  concealed  under  a  bushel.  The  shining 
reached  even  to  the  mountain  village,  and 
was  the  topic  of  conversation  in  every  house. 
Some,  even  of  the  wiser  ones,  bought  the 
condemned  Book,  the  "Prote  Testament," 
and  began  to  read  for  themselves  about 
this  "-new   faith."      Then    they  told    their 


138  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

neighbors,  and  compared  this  new  book  with 
the  ancient  one  from  which  their  priests 
read.  "  Why,  brethren,  these  are  just  the 
same  words;  only  one  is  in  our  ancient 
tongue,  and  the  other  in  the  modern. 
These  people  are  right,  and  our  priests  are 
wrong.  They  are  ignorant,  and  have  kept 
us  so."  A  desire  for  knowledge  was  awak- 
ened; but  many  shuddered  at  these  new 
doctrines,  and  kept  a  more  watchful  lookout 
for  their  beloved  ones. 

The  women  especially  felt  that  the  religion 
that  forbade  them  to  call  on  the  Holy  Virgin 
was  not  to  be  tolerated.  The  Turk  was  bad 
enough ;  but  these  New  Rehgionists  were 
much  more  dangerous,  especially  to  their 
children. 

"  I  would  rather  my  child  should  be  a 
Turk  than  one  of  those  Protes,"  was  the 
language  often  heard  fi-om  those  calling 
themselves  Christians. 


GEACE  n.LUSTEATED.  139 

The  priest  himself  began  to  think  about 
these  strange  doctrines,  and  read  more  care- 
fully his  smoky  Bible,  and  to  think  less  of 
his  book  of  church  forms  and  rules.  The 
sabbath  was  discussed ;  and  many  began  to 
say,  "  Surely  the  sabbath  is  holier  than 
saints'  days  ;  but  we  profane  God's  da}",  while 
we  carefully  keep  a  great  many  saints'  days." 

Kohar's  father  and  uncles  began  to  talk 
of  these  things  in  the  long  winter  evenings, 
when  the  neighbors  would  come  in  and  tell 
of  some  new  development  in  the  neighboring 
city.  The  mother,  too,  listened,  and  seemed 
to  be  more  softened  towards  her  little  girl, 
who  would  be  drinking  in  all  she  heard, 
believing  that  God  would  soon  send  the 
answer  to  her  earnest  prayers,  as  the  mis- 
sionary had  assui'ed  her  he  would. 

These  discussions  were  the  wedge  that 
God  prepared  to  pry  open  the  door  to  let  his 
jewel  come  forth  to  the  light  of  perfect  day. 


140  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

Kohar  became  a  better  cliild ;  and  God  was 
using  her  as  a  little  preacher  in  her  home, 
and  thus  softening  her  parents'  hearts.  They 
looked  upon  her  crooked  back,  and  pitied 
her ;  for  she  would  never  be  married,  and  she 
could  not  work  in  the  field,  and  thus  aid  her 
father.  What  can  a  village  woman  do,  if 
too  weak  to  labor  with  her  husband,  father, 
and  brothers  in  the  fields  ?  The  father  and 
brothers  would  say,  "  Surely  the  housework 
is  of  very  little  account." 

"How  would  it  do  to -let  those  Inglese 
have  Kohar  ?  "  was  the  thought  that  troubled 
father  and  mother.  "  Perhaps  they,  too,  are 
Christians,  and  then  our  child  will  not  be 
lost.  By  and  by  she  will  be  only  a  burden 
to  us ;  but,  if  we  let  her  go  to  school,  she 
may  be  able  to  help  herself  in  some  way. 
At  any  rate,  they  will  care  for  her."  It  was 
a  joyful  day  when  she  entered  a  Protes- 
tant family  in  Arabkir,  and  began  to  attend 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  141 

school.  She  made  sucli  progress,  that,  ere 
long,  she  was  able  to  help  the  missionary's 
wife  in  the  school,  and  finally  became  the 
teacher  of  the  girls'  school.  She  loved  to 
study  ;  and,  when  she  heard  that  a  seminary 
for  girls  was  opened  at  Harpoot,  she  became 
uneasy  even  in  her  beloved  work  of  teaching. 
She  was  unwilling  to  sadden  those  who 
had  done  so  much  for  her  to  fit  her  for  this 
position ;  for  she  saw  no  one  to  take  her  place 
in  the  school.  The  desire  grew,  and  became 
so  strong,  that  she  looked  sad.  The  kind 
missionaries  said,  "  Kohar,  you  are  very  much 
needed  here  ;  but  in  the  spring  you  may  go  to 
Harpoot."  The  happy  girl  felt  that  God  had 
answered  her  prayer  a  second  time  ;  and  her 
heart  was  filled  with  joy  and  thanksgiving, 
and  her  face  radiant  with  smiles.  She  was 
an  earnest  student,  and,  after  her  graduation, 
was  selected  as  assistant  in  the  seminary, 
where,  for  several  years,  she  gave  great  satis- 


142  GEACE  ILLTTSTEATED. 

faction  to  the  missionary  teachers,  and  was 
beloved  by  all  the  girls,  her  Christian  influ- 
ence over  whom  filled  the  hearts  of  her 
superiors  with  joy,  and  they  felt  that  their 
dear  pupils  were  safe  while  they  had  such 
a  constant  example  of  earnest  piety  and 
patience  to  look  up  to.  Kohar  was  at  the 
head  of  the  school-family;  and  seldom  did 
her  management  need  any  interference,  while 
she  was  ready  to  listen  to  any  advice  given 
her.  During  the  long  winter  vacations, 
when  the  seminary  was  closed,  and  the  girls 
sent  home  to  teach,  or  aid  their  parents  in  the 
family,  Kohar  made  long  tours  among  the 
villages,  sometimes  spending  several  weeks 
in  one  place,  teaching  the  women,  holding 
prayer-meetings,  and  singing  sweet  songs, 
which  the  women  often  speak  of  as  one  of 
their  pleasant  recollections  of  her  visits. 

In  this  way  she  encouraged  both  the 
preachers  and  their  wives,  besides  winning 
new  sisters  to  the  gospel. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  143 

She  did  not  forget  lier  native  village  nor 
her  father,  mother,  and  brothers.  When 
visiting  and  talking,  her  fingers  were  busy 
making  collars  or  edging,  which  she  sold, 
and  sent  the  avails  to  help  support  the  pastor 
of  Sh^pik ;  for  the  light  had  not  only 
entered  her  home,  and  enlightened  her  father 
and  mother,  and  other  members  of  the  family, 
but  now  a  church  was  formed  ;  and  the  priest 
—  who  for  years  had  burnt  incense  before  the 
pictures  of  saints,  and  preached  fast  days 
and  saints'  days,  —  stood  up  to  preach  not  the 
intercession  of  Mary,  but  that  of  Jesus  the 
Son  of  man,  as  the  only  advocate  between 
God  and  fallen  man. 

She  remembered  her  parents  in  their 
poverty  also,  and  often  sent  them  something 
from  her  own  earnings.  Nor  did  she  forget 
the  foreign  mission-work.  Well  do  I  re- 
member the  time  when  she  gave  five  dollars 
to  this  work,  while  she  had  not  clothing  suit- 


144  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

able  for  the  cold  winter  before  her.  While 
seeking  others'  comfort,  she  forgot  her  own  ; 
and  often  her  own  health  would  have  suffered 
from  her  unselfishness,  had  not  some  one 
cared  for  her.  But  He  who  cares  even  for 
the  hungry  ravens,  and  notes  the  sparrow's 
fall,  put  it  into  kind  hearts  to  supply  the 
warm  garments  needed  for  her  frail  body 
when  she  went  out  among  the  villages  in 
midwinter.  Her  gratitude  to  the  unseen 
givers,  often  far  off  in  a  (to  her)  strange  land, 
was  earnest  and  beautiful.  It  touched  her 
tender  heart  to  think  that  strangers  should 
care  for  her,  because  they,  too,  loved  the  same 
Jesus  she  did ;  and  she  often  spoke  of  the 
joy  she  should  have  in  seeing  these  dear 
ones,  and  praising  this  same  Jesus  with  them 
in  heaven.  During  one  of  her  vacations,  she 
went  to  the  city  of  Egin,  where  we  had  a 
preacher  and  his  wife,  but  where  the  people 
looked  with  scorn  upon  Protestants.      The 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  145 

women  were  superior  to  those  of  any  other 
place  in  our  mission-field,  very  neat  and  tidy 
in  their  dress  and  houses,  but  proud,  and  far 
away  from  the  simple  teachings  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  She  conversed  with  those  who 
would  lend  a  listening  ear  out  of  mere  polite- 
ness. But  soon  some  were  ready  to  welcome 
her  to  their  houses,  though  others  hooted 
after  her  in  the  streets,  crying  out  "  Prote," 
even  throwing  stones  at  her.  "When  the 
time  came  for  her  to  return  to  Harpoot,  she 
had  won  several  women,  who  not  only  came 
to  listen  to  her  sweet  words  about  Jesus,  but 
were  busy  over  their  primer,  learning  to  read, 
that  they  for  themselves  might  study  the 
sweet  words  of  the  Saviour  about  whom  they 
had  heard  from  Kohar.  Among  these  pupils 
were  women  with  white  heads,  patiently 
learning  their  a,  5,  e's.  "  You  must  not 
leave  us,"  was  the  pleading  cry  of  these 
women.  "Who  will  care  for  us,  if  you 
10 


146  GRACE  rLLTJSTEATED. 

go  ? "  She  urged  that  her  presence  was 
needed  in  the  school ;  but  they  replied,  "  The 
missionaries  can  find  some  one  else.  Do  not 
leave  us  now  !  " 

She  staid  with  them  ;  but  they  were  just 
as  unwilling  that  she  should  leave  them 
when  the  next  spring  came,  and  the  next ; 
and  she  has  seen  the  work  extend,  till 
quite  a  strong  Protestant  community  has 
grown  up.  Twenty-three  persons,  among 
them  nine  women,  have  joined  a  neighboring 
church,  and  are  looking  forward  to  the  time 
when  they  can  ordain  their  preacher,  and 
become  a  separate  church.  Kohar  has  now  a 
school  of  sixty  pupils,  and  calls  earnestly  for 
an  assistant ;  so  that  she  may  devote  her  time 
to  those  who  are  yet  too  proud  to  acknowl- 
edge that  they  need  any  good  thing.  Who 
of  us  could  have  foretold  the  success  that 
has  followed  this  poor  little  deformed  girl, 
when  we  first  saw  her  in  her  humble  home 
amono-  the  mountains? 


GEACE  rLLUSTRATED.  147 

God  has  his  jewels  scattered  all  over  the 
world  ;  and  he  will  cause  them  to  shine  when 
he  has  need  of  their  light.  He  will  call 
upon  us  to  help  him  polish  and  refine  them, 
if  we  are  waiting  to  help  him ;  and  surely 
the  reward  will  be  glorious. 

"  Sow  in  the  morn  thy  seed  ; 
At  eve  hold  not  thine  hand  ; 
To  doubt  and  fear  give  thou  no  heed  ; 
Broadcast  it  o'er  the  laud! 

Thou  canst  not  toil  in  vain : 

Cold,  heat,  and  moist  and  dry 
Shall  foster  and  mature  the  grain 

For  garners  in  the  sky." 


148  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


XII. 

KOORDISH  AMY. 

Q|OME  fifty  miles  north  from  Harpoot,  the 
horizon  is  skirted  by  the  towering  range 
of  the  Anti-Taurus  Mountains,  which, 
stretching  to  the  east,  to  Persia  and  the 
homes  of  the  mountain  Nestorians,  and 
south-east,  through  Koordistan  Proper, 
toward  the  Persian  Gulf,  are  the  home  of 
untold  numbers  of  Koordish  tribes,  whose 
ancestry,  the  CarducM,  held  these  same 
fastnesses  nearly  twenty-three  hundred  years 
ago,  and  near  Redwan,  one  of  the  Koordish 
mission-stations  of  our  native  churches,  dis- 
puted with  Xenophon  and  his  retreating 
"  ten  thousand "  the  passage  through  their 
land.     Theories    are    various,   curious,    and 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  149 

some  of  them  wild,  in  regard  to  the  origin 
of  this  interesting  people  and  their  two 
languages,  —  the  Koormanji  and  the  Zaza 
Koordish.  Suppose  we  "guess"  that  Nim- 
rod,  the  "  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord," 
had  two  sons,  who,  with  their  companions, 
betook  themselves  to  the  mountains  in  search 
of  game,  and  concluded  to  stay  there,  and 
replenish  and  hold  their  hunting-park.  Tliis 
supposition  gives  the  old  sportsman  no  mean 
posterity,  since  among  the  Koords  are  found 
some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  physical 
manhood  in  all  the  Orient. 

If,  however,  commentators  insist  on  a 
universal  deluge,  and  the  drowning  out  of 
all  the  children  of  Adam  except  those 
"eight  souls,"  not  even  allowing  Father 
Noah  a  few  servants  in  the  ark,  let  them 
provide  progenitors  for  our  Koords  from 
among  those  eight,  while  we  turn  to  our 
story. 


150  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

About  a  score  of  j^ears  ago,  in  one  of  the 
districts  near  the  city  of  Chemishgezek,  one 
of  this  people,  Murto  by  name,  wedded  a 
beautiful  maiden  named  Bayzie.  And,  what 
was  even  more  satisfactory  than  wedding  a 
beauty  (a  thing  which  can  not  happen  among 
the  harem-owning  Turks,  with  ugly  black 
veils  concealing  their  women's  faces  when 
abroad,  nor  even  among  the  less  exclusive 
Armenians),  he,  and  all  about  him,  knew 
that  she  was  beautiful ;  for  the  Koords,  while 
guarding  with  vindictive  jealousy  the  virtue 
of  their  women,  allow  them  to  go  and  come 
with  unveiled  faces,  a  thing  unknown  among 
those  about  them. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  Murto 
and  Bayzie  had  become  the  happy  parents 
of  two  little  girls,  —  Amy  and  Hedjie,  —  a 
wealthier  and  mightier  Koord  made  a  mid- 
night raid  upon  their  home,  and  carried  off 
the  beautiful  mother. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  151 

Whether  Bayzie  was  more  or  less  happy 
in  her  new  home,  or  made  any  effort  to 
return  to  her  husband,  we  learn  not ;  but  he 
soon  fled  to  Chemishgezek,  where,  at  his 
death  not  long  after,  he  left  his  two  little 
orphans,  servants  in  a  wealthy  Armenian 
family.^ 

The  gospel  light,  and  with  it  the  idea  of 
educating  and  elevating  woman,  which  en- 
tered this  home  of  "the  Seven  Young  Con- 
fessors," so  far  penetrated  this  family,  that 
Amy,  the  elder  of  the  two  girls,  learned  to 
read,  and  obtained  a  two-cent  copy  of  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew.  Our  first  knowledge 
of  her  was  when  (in  1869)  a  request  came 
from  Chemishgezek,  that  we  receive  "  a  poor 
girl  "  to  the  Harpoot  Female  Seminary. 

Our  reply  was  in  the  usual  form  :  "  If  she 

1  By  a  misapprehension,  it  was  stated  in  the  Harpoot 
News,  that  "  the  father  died,  and  the  mother  remarried;" 
which  is  true  in  reversed  order  of  time. 


152  GEACE  rLLTTSTRATED. 

is  a  suitable  person,  and  any  one  is  responsi- 
ble for  lier  clothes,  books,  and  traveling  ex- 
penses, we  will  receive  her,"  adding,  "but 
our  seminary  is  not  an  alms-house."  The 
reply  soon  came,  "  She  is  a  poor  Koordish 
girl,  for  whom  no  one  cares  ;  and  those  with 
whom  she  lives  are  so  far  from  wisliing  to 
send  her,  that,  should  she  go  to  school,  they 
would  even  deprive  her  of  all  her  best 
clothes." 

Our  reply,  "  Such  a  girl  will  not  do  for  us 
to  educate,"  put  an  end  to  the  matter,  till, 
some  months  later,  Mr.  H.  N.  Barnum  and 
myself  visited  Chemishgezek ;  and  Amy 
appeared  before  us  to  plead  her  own  cause. 

She  seemed  thoroughly  possessed  with  the 
idea,  that  come  she  must  to  the  seminary, 
—  that  paradise  of  girls  in  need  of  Christian 
education. 

No  Armenian  girl  of  her  age,  unless  edu- 
cated in   a  Protestant    school,  would   have 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  153 

ventured  to  say  a  word  to  us,  or  even  to 
reply  to  a  question ;  but  this  poor  Koordish 
girl,  with  her  inborn  nature  energized  by 
earnestness  of  desire,  stood  and  pleaded  her 
cause  with  a  boldness  and  perseverance 
which  interested  and  surprised  us. 

But  to  all  her  pleadings  we  had  a  ready 
reply,  till  she  exclaimed,  "  Missionaries,  if 
Jesus  were  now  on  earth,  and  a  poor  girl 
Hke  me  wished  to  come  to  liim,  and  learn 
about  his  salvation,  don't  you  think  he 
would  receive  her?"  To  this  question, 
enforced  by  her  earnest  tones,  and  pleading 
face,  we  could  not  find  it  in  our  hearts  to 
give  the  cold,  logical  reply,  "  Oh !  you  can 
learn  about  Jesus  here,  without  coming  to 
the  seminary;"  for  she  at  least  felt,  that, 
surrounded  as  she  was  by  merely  nominal 
Christians,  she  could  not  learn  his  will. 
But,  earnest  and  sincere  as  she  appeared,  we 
'■+ill  had  a  hngering  fear  of  being  deceived 


154  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

in  this  our  first  experience  with  a  Koordish 
candidate  :  so  we  inquired  of  all  the  "  Prot- 
estant brethren,"  whether,  so  far  as  they 
knew,  she  was  truthful,  industrious,  and 
faithful,  and,  in  their  opinion,  sincere  in  her 
request,  or  whether  she  might  wish  to  go  to 
the  seminary  from  mere  curiosity,  or  in  hope 
of  living  an  easier  life.  When  all  gave 
decided  testimony  in  her  favor,  we  said, 
"  We  will  run  the  risk,  and  make  this  one 
experiment.  Let  her  come."  Take  her 
ourselves  we  could  not. 

But,  surrounded  as  she  was  by  those 
hostile  to  us  and  the  evangelical  faith,  mere 
letting  would  not  bring  her.  And  the  diffi- 
culty increased  greatly,  when  word  went 
forth  among  the  many  Koords  in  the  city, 
"  The  '  hat-wearers '  are  about  to  carry  off  one 
of  the  tribe,  and  make  her  a  Christian."  So 
the  poor  orphan  suddenly  had  plenty  of 
friends,   who,  with   loaded  guns,  let  it   be 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  155 

known  that  any  one  would  take  lier  away  at 
the  peril  of  his  life  ;  and,  as  Koordish  guns 
have  laid  many  a  poor  Armenian  low  in 
those  wild  regions,  it  was  not  surprising  that 
sudden  fear  and  trembling  took  possession 
of  the  Protestants  who  had  secured  her  in- 
terviews with  the  missionaries.  But  it  was 
surprising  to  see  how  suddenly  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  new  alkaline  element  of  fear 
turned  all  their  beautiful  coloring  to  a  som- 
ber blue.  Accustomed  as  we  are  to  the 
timidity  and  fickleness  of  this  land,  we  were 
amazed  to  see,  that,  all  at  once,  Amy,  the 
paragon  of  excellence,  had  become  a  "  lazy 
shirk,  seeking  to  escape  life's  burdens  by 
hiding  herself  in  a  seminary,  under  pretense 
of  learning  about  Jesus." 

When  all  these  improvised  arguments  had 
been  rebutted  by  recalling  words  just  before 
uttered  by  the  same  men,  one  of  them,  a 
very    zealous    Protestant,  but    rather    poor 


156  GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

Cliristian,  heedlessly  let  the  truth  out,  in- 
quiring in  a  distressful  tone,  "  Is  that  Koord- 
ish  girl  of  so  much  importance,  that,  for  her 
sake,  you  are  willing  to  send  our  souls  into 
eternity  unprepared  ?  Shall  we  be  lost,  that 
she  may  be  saved  ?  "  —  "  Not  at  all,"  we  re- 
plied ;  "  but,  having  once  conscientiously 
taken  a  position,  no  fear  of  Koordish  guns 
can  turn  us  from  it.  And  perhaps  the  Mas- 
ter is  taking  this  way  to  prepare  you,  sir,  for 
heaven.  So  long  as  you  feel  that  the  hour 
of  death  is  uncertain,  there  is  little  hope  of 
your  being  any  thing  more  than  a  Protes- 
tant. Perhaps  a  look  down  the  muzzle  of  a 
gun  is  just  the  thing  needed  to  wake  you  up 
to  prepare  to  meet  God.  So,  then,  we  still 
say,  '  Let  her  come.'  " 

It  remained,  then,  to  decide  how  the  thing 
should  be  done.  To  take  her  along  our- 
selves would  raise  a  mob,  and  perhaps 
hinder  her  leaving,  besides  lifting  our  pro- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  157 

tegee  up  with  pride  and  seK-conceit  at  the 
thought  of  being  of  so  much  consequence. 
During  the  sabbath  services,  we  had  been 
struck  by  the  earnest  looks  of  a  man  some 
fifty  years  okl,  to  whom  the  Word  seemed 
to  be  like  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul. 

During  all  the  discussion  about  Amy,  he 
had  sat  a  quiet,  interested  listener ;  but  now, 
when  the  time  for  words  had  passed,  and 
that  for  deeds  had  come,  he  rose  and  came 
forward,  saying, "  Missionaries,  do  you  intend 
to  let  this  girl  come  to  the  seminary  ?  "  On 
our  replying  in  the  affirmative,  he,  with  a 
resolute,  martjT*  look,  added,  "  Brethren,  I 
can  not  conscientiously  allow  her  to  be  pre- 
vented from  going.  Tell  all  the  Koords 
that  I  did  it.  I  will  take  her  to  Harpoot. 
Let  them  kill  me,  if  any  one." 

But  we  much  preferred  that  nobody  die, 
and  that  one  member  of  the  little  com- 
munity should  run   away.     He   was   a  man 


158  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

equally  famous  for  enduring  persecution,  and 
notorious  for  lazy  loafing,  —  one  who  made  it 
a  matter  of  principle  to  sponge  his  living 
out  of  Protestant  preachers,  and  in  various 
vrays  bring  reproach  on  the  Protestant 
name. 

Now,  thought  we,  is  the  time  to  feed  two 
birds  with  one  grain  of  wheat,  by  getting 
Amy  to  Harpoot,  and  Garabed  so  out  of  this 
city,  that  he  will  never  dare  to  come  back. 
So  we  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  You  bring 
her,"  and  left. 

But  he  was  as  shrewd  as  lazy,  and  at  once 
posted  off  to  the  chief  of  Amy's  tribe,  the 
famous  Ali  Gako  of  Mr.  Dunmore's  day,^ 
and  obtained  a  paper  authorizing  him  to 
take  her  to  Harpoot  to  be  educated  by  the 
missionaries. 

"With    this   to   insure   his   own  safety,  he 

1  See  Missionary  Herald  for  1855,  pp.  55,  340 ;  for  1857, 
pp.  210,  346;  and,  for  1858,  p.  113. 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  159 

mounted  her  on  a  mule,  and  fled  from  the 
city  by  night,  and  appeared  the  next  day 
with  his  prize  at  the  seminary  door,  which 
she  entered  with  curiosity,  expectation,  and 
delight,  little,  if  any,  less  than  that  with 
which  she  and  we  shall  at  last  cross  the 
threshold  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  With  her 
tall,  erect  form,  dark,  flashing  eyes,  long, 
rather  coarse,  unkempt  hair,  and  (to  a  gen- 
tleman) indescribable  toilet,  coarse,  ragged, 
and  peculiar,  our  mountain  maid  was  a  sub- 
ject for  a  painter.  It  hardly  need  be  said, 
that  entering  the  seminary  with  feelings 
such  as  hers,  and  brought  daily,  continually 
under  the  religious  influences  of  the  place, 
she,  ere  long,  yielded  her  heart  to  the  Sav- 
iour about  whom  she  had  come  to  learn. 
Some  tliree  years  afterwards  she  was  bap- 
tized, and  entered  into  covenant  with  the 
church  in  Harpoot,  of  which  she  is  still  a 
member. 


160  GEACE   ILLTJSTRATED. 

Her  progress  in  study  during  llie  four 
years  she  was  a  pupU.  iu  the  seminary  was 
laborious,  very  slow,  and  very  sure.  Any 
thing  once  learned  was  learned  for  perma- 
nence and  use.  Once  having  acquired  it 
herself,  she  was  ready  and  able  to  teach 
others  also ;  and  when  examining  the  girls' 
school,  which,  during  the  year  past,  she 
taught  in  Central  Harj)Oot,  we  were  both 
amused  and  gratified  at  seeing  what  a  female 
seminary  in  miniature  she  had. 

Each  movement  and  method  were  after 
the  exact  model.  And,  before  a  crowd 
which  would  have  abashed  almost  any  other 
pupil,  she,  with  the  self-possessed  dignity 
of  an  old,  experienced  teacher,  went  through 
the  exercises. 

One  quality,  rare  enough  in  this  land,  but 
which  she  exhibited  in  Occidental  measure, 
is  that  of  steadfast  performance  of  duty  to 
be  done,  in  s^^ite  of  the  efforts  of  others  to 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  ICl 

turn  her  aside.  It  is  a  very,  very  difficult 
thing  here  to  induce  teachers  to  adhere  to 
rules  laid  down  for  their  government,  and 
especially  in  regard  to  time.  But  when  a 
person  of  some  consequence  once  tried  to 
induce  Amy  to  omit  a  lesson  at  its  time,  and 
was  angry  with  her  for  failing  to  comply 
with  his  wishes,  she  replied,  "  The  mission- 
aries have  put  me  here  to  teach  these  girls ; 
and  I  shall  do  it^ 

Amusing  as  it  may  seem,  she  still  enter- 
tains high  ideas  of  her  former  condition,  and 
speaks  in  lofty  terms  of  "  the  big  house  "  in 
which  she  had  the  honor  of  serving.  A 
more  prohfic  source  of  pride  is  in  the  atten- 
tions paid  by  many  to  "  the  Koordish  girl," 
who  is  sure  to  be  the  first  one  sought  out 
by  visitors  to  the  seminary,  in  which,  during 
the  present  year,  she  has  been  made  assistant 
teacher. 

She  has  any  but  true  ideas  in  regard  to  our 


162  GRACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

connection  with  her  coming  here.  As  she 
recently  stated  in  a  letter,  "  When  the  Har- 
poot  missionaries  learned  of  my  desire  to 
come  to  the  seminary,  two  of  them  came  to 
Chemishgezek  to  see  me."  (!)  And  were  we 
to  give  her  all  the  flattering  messages  sent 
by  those  in  this  land  and  at  home,  who  feel 
an  interest  in  her,  and  especially  were  she 
to  hear  all  the  noise  that  is  made  about  her, 
she  and  we  could  with  difiSculty  dwell  in  the 
same  house. 

The  earnest  spirit  of  emulation  which  has 
thus  far  characterized  her  leads  her  to 
aspire  even  to  "  complete  her  education"  in 
some  American  South  Hadley  or  Vassar. 

Disappointed  in  her  plans  and  efforts,  or 
especially  wounded  in  her  sensitive-plant 
feelings,  she  sinks  at  times  into  what  we  call 
"  the  depths  of  indigo,"  tinged,  now  and  then, 
with  a  hue  of  sanctimony,  constraining  the 
writer  once  to  call  to  her,  "  Why,  Amy,  I 


GKACE  ILLUSTRATED.  163 

thought  you  were  about  to  die  ;  and  here  you 
are  again  wickedly  taking  the  air  with  these 
worldly-minded  girls  !  " 

But,  though  not  yet  blooming  in  the 
perfect  beauty  and  symmetry  of  a  flower  of 
paradise,  she  is  one  who  adds  much  to 
the  attractions  of  our  "  missionary  garden." 
Her  evidently  conscientious  desire  to  do 
right,  her  patient,  prayerful  efforts  to  please 
her  teachers  as  pupil,  and  now,  as  assistant 
teacher,  to  exert  a  Christian  influence  over 
those  whom  she  instructs,  and  her  humbling 
sense  of  her  felt  deficiencies,  give  ground  to 
hope  much  for  her  future  usefulness.  Would 
that,  with  a  suitable  companion,  she  might 
return  to  labor  for  her  own  people,  among 
whom  the  light  of  the  gospel  has  hardly 
begun  to  shine ! 

Her  one  ungratified  desire  is  to  have  her 
sister  Hedjie  a  pupil  in  the  seminary.  Over 
this  she  anxiously  meditates,  and  for  it  she 


164  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

prays.  And  if  earnest,  eloquent,  gifted 
prayer  avail,  her  request  will  surely  ere  long 
be  granted  ;  for  she  knows  how  to  plead  with 
God  as  few  or  none  of  her  sex  here  do. 
'Tis  said  that  ah'eady  Hedjie  has  learned  to 
read,  and  is  watching  her  opportunity  to 
escape  from  her  semi-servitude,  and  join  her 
sister  here.  But  of  this  we  know  not. 
Those,  certainly,  with  whom  she  is  living, 
will  take  good  care  that  she  do  not  too  easily 
fall  into  missionary  hands. 

Not  so  happy  the  fate  of  Rose,  —  we  forget 
the  Koordish  of  it,  —  a  girl  from  a  tribe 
residing  some  seventy-five  miles  north-east 
from  Harpoot.  Permitted  by  her  parents  to 
reside  for  a  time  in  a  Protestant  family  in 
the  capital  of  the  Geghi  district,  she  formed 
the  purpose,  which  we  did  not  encourage,  to 
come  to  the  famous  seminary.  We  advised, 
rather,  that,  for  a  time,  she  study  in  the 
school  taught  there  by  the   pastor's  wife. 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  165 

But,  poor  girl !  she  was  not  allowed  to  do 
it ;  for  her  parents  dragged  her  back  to 
their  mountain-home,  where,  against  her 
wish,  she  was  married  to  an  untamed  Koord. 
Should  any  one  ask  why  we  did  not  at 
once  take  this  poor  girl  to  Harpoot,  we  reply, 
"  Because  we  wished  first  to  try  her  farther  ; 
and,  secondly,  because  her  tribe,  being  of  the 
wildest  sort,  would  certainly  have  avenged 
her  coming  by  the  blood  of  some  one  or 
more  members  of  the  family  with  whom  she 
lived.  Will  not  all  who  read  this  sketch 
join  us  in  praying  for  the  speedy  dawning, 
on  these  mountain-fastnesses,  of  the  day  of 
religious  liberty  ? 


166  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XIII. 

A  PILLAR  REMOVED. 

TTTHO  shall  tell  us  whether  it  is  from  the 
innate  force  of  gospel  truth  to  develop 
leadership,  or  by  special  providential  ap- 
pointment, that  almost  without  fail,  wher- 
ever a  little  body  of  believers  is  collected, 
an  Aaron,  with,  perhaps,  an  added  Hur, 
comes  to  the  front  as  leader  in  church-work, 
whether  of  praying  or  practical  working? 
Were  all  these  earnest  workers  to  be  gath- 
ered in  some  one  body,  even  a  pretty  large 
one,  the  effect  might  not  be  the  best  even 
there  ;  while  many  a  little  leaderless  band 
would  lose  heart  and  all  aggressive  force, 
and  the  little  light  in  many  a  dark  place  go 
out. 


GKACE  ILLUSTRATED.  167 

Such  a  leader  early  appeared  for  the  little 
Protestant  band  in  the  village  of  Hulakegh, 
about  six  miles  west  from  Harpoot. 

At  one  of  Mr,  Dunmore's  earliest  visits 
there,  he  was  sought  out  by  a  man,  Avak  by 
name,  who  timidly  purchased  a  Bible,  and 
hurried  away  to  hide  it  at  a  neighbor's 
house,  where  he  might  secretly  go  and  read 
the  forbidden  book ;  for,  though  about  forty 
years  old,  he  was,  according  to  Oriental 
custom,  still  subject  to  his  father,  who 
would  not  allow  the  "  Prote  Bible  "  to  enter 
his  house. 

Being  a  church  "reader,"  Avak  had  not 
to  go  through  the  usual  tedious  process  of 
learning  to  read,  but  was  able,  from  the  first, 
to  peruse  his  new-found  treasure  understand- 
ingly.  Being  a  sincere,  conscientious  man, 
the  result  was,  that  he  was  soon  known  as 
an  adherent  of  the  new  faith,  of  which,  in 
spite  of  a  somewhat  phlegmatic,  conserva- 


168  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

tive  turn  of  mind,  lie  at  once  became  an 
eam(;st,  practical  apostle,  going  from  man 
to  man,  house  to  house,  and  village  to 
village,  as  an  unpaid  preacher.  And  the 
character  of  these  efforts  was  in  marked 
contrast  to  those  of  some  of  his  fellow 
Protestants,  who  were  such  merely.  In- 
quired one  of  these  one  day,  "Plow  happens 
it  that  I  have  so  much  trouble,  while  you, 
who  talk  so  much,  get  along  so  easily?" 
—  "-Oh!"  replied  Avak,  "because  you  seek 
noise;  and  I,  peace  and  success."  —  "I  see," 
retorted  the  other,  touched  by  the  home- 
thrust,  "  you  raise  the  plow  at  every  stone, 
while  I  let  it  remain." — "Rather,"  replied 
Avak,  "say  that  you  use  the  ax  on  the 
stone."  A  result  of  his  wise,  loving  efforts 
to  win  men,  enforced  by  his  consistent 
Christian  example,  was,  that  one,  and 
another,  and  another  were  won  to  the  new, 
eld  faith,  who  are  now  living  members  of 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  169 

the  little  Hulakegh  church.  The  death  of 
the  father  soon  opened  the  way  for  bringing 
home  the  proscribed  book,  and  made  Avak, 
as  oldest  of  three  brothers,  the  head  of  a 
family  of  fifteen,  who  were  soon  united  in 
studj^ing  and  obeying  the  new  book.  Burn- 
ing with  zeal  to  fit  himself  for  more  effective 
preaching,  he  now  entered  the  newly-opened 
theological  seminary  in  Harpoot.  But  a 
month's  trial  convinced  both  him  and  us 
that  he  was  out  of  his  place ;  and  he  went 
back  to  labor  on  in  the  old  way.  The  ques- 
tion of  forming  a  church  in  Hulakegh  was 
hard  to  decide,  perhaps  I  should  rather  say 
easy ;  for,  though  the  people  were  not  poorer 
than  the  mass  of  those  of  other  villages  of 
Harpoot  plain,  they  did  seem  to  be  more 
penurious,  and  to  justify  very  little  hope  of 
their  ever  supporting  a  pastor.  The  decision 
turned,  at  last,  upon  the  question,  whether 
Avak  and  hi&  brothers  could  be  induced  to 


170  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

pay  the  unprecedented  sum,  for  a  village 
family,  of  ten  dollars  a  year.  To  our  sur- 
prise and  gratification,  the  presentation  of 
the  question  to  him  in  that  form  secured  an 
immediate  affirmative.  He  could  do  any 
thing  necessary  for  such  an  object,  and  the 
church  was  formed ;  the  village  of  which  we 
had  said,  "No  self-supporting  church  can 
ever  be  formed  there,"  being  among  the 
first  to  assert  its  independence  of  foreign 
aid. 

But  the  days  of  John  Concordance  and 
tithe-paying  were  first  to  come,  and  multiply 
this  ten  dollars  by  three  and  more. 

One  of  John's  converts,  a  student  in  the 
theological  seminary,  went  to  tell  the  people 
of  Hulakegh  of  the  new,  easy,  and  equita- 
ble method  of  providing  for  church  ex- 
penses. But  for  Avak  to  tithe  the  income 
of  himself  and  brothers,  and  thus  increase 
the  ten  to  tliirty-foui-  dollars  for  the  current 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED^  171 

year,  was  harder  than  to  make  the  original 
contribution.  So,  in  the  meeting  held  to 
consider  the  question  of  tithe-paying,  his 
natural  conservatism  came  prominently  out, 
and  he  was  forward  and  efficient  in  offering 
objections  to  the  new  plan.  "  It  would  be 
difficult  to  tell  the  amount  of  the  tithes," 
an  objection,  which,  from  a  farmer,  who 
would  pay  in  kind,  evidently  originated 
more  in  the  heart  than  the  head.  Then, 
"  there  would  be  danger  of  withholding  the 
tithes,  and,  like  the  Jews,  'robbing  God,' 
and  falling  under  his  wrath  and  curse,"  &c. 

This  dialogue  between  pulpit  and  pews  — 
or,  rather,  seat  on  the  floor,  —  went  on  till 
the  young  theologue  summoned  courage  to 
say,  "Brother  Avak,  it  seems  to  me  that 
only  those  who  fear  that  God  will  give  them 
a  good  deal  are  unwilling  to  return  his 
tithes." 

The   arrow  had  reached  the  mark.     His 


172  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

better  nature  at  once  re-assumed  the  ascen- 
dency ;  and  he  exclaimed,  "  You  are  right !  " 
and  immediately  rose,  and  began  to  pray,  tell- 
ing the  Lord  all  about  his  past  covetousness, 
and  promising  to  do  better  in  the  future. 
And  the  vow  then  made  he  faithfully  kept 
till  his  dying-day,  which  came  in  September, 
1869,  when  he  was  suddenly  prostrated  with 
a  disease  which  deprived  him  of  the  power 
of  speech,  Avhich  was  restored  to  him  only 
for  a  very  brief  period  before  his  death. 
These  moments  he  improved  in  expressing 
gratitude  to  God  for  giving  him  the  power 
of  speech  once  more,  and  telHng  those  about 
him  how  much  he  should  love  once  more  to 
make  a  preaching-tour  among  the  villages. 

This  testimony  given,  he  closed  his  eyes 
and  lips,  to  open  them,  we  doubt  not,  amid 
the  glories  and  praises  of  the  better  world, 
and  leaving  behind  him  a  name  which  will 
long  have  a  saintly  fragrance  in  all  the  region 
around. 


GKACE  ILLUSTRATED.  173 


XIV. 

DEACON  AVEDIS. 

rpHE  little  Hulakegh  church  had  yet  one 
more  pillar;  but  of  him,  too,  the  Lord 
had  need,  and,  in  the  September  following 
the  death  of  Avak,  called  him  to  higher 
service. 

His  was  a  later  and  somewhat  peculiar 
conversion  to  the  gospel  faith.  The  work  in 
the  village  began,  and  for  some  time  con- 
tinued, among  men  exclusively ;  and  it  was 
a  happy  day,  when,  by  the  use  of  a  little 
w^orldly  wisdom  —  taking  a  company  of  mis- 
sionary ladies  and  Protestant  "sisters"  from 
Harpoot  to  a  dedication  service  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  so,  by  an  appeal  to  innate  curiosity, 
luring  some  women  to  that  dreaded  place,  a 


174  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

Protestant  meeting  —  we  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing a  very  few  that  those  who  read  the 
Scriptures  in  the  modern  spoken  tongue 
were  not  worse  than  Turks.  Of  those  whom 
curiosity  lured  in,  two  or  three,  soon  followed 
by  a  crowd,  came  again  and  again ;  and,  ere 
long,  Hulakegh  was  noted  for  the  extent  of 
the  evangelical  work  among  the  women. 
Among  those  who  first  learned  to  read  the 
gospel  was  the  wife  of  Avedis,  thereby  so 
putting  him  to  shame,  that,  he  too,  purchased 
a  primer,  and  imitated  her  example. 

The  entrance  of  God's  word  gave  not 
only  intellectual  light,  but  spiritual  under- 
standing ;  and  he  was  soon  so  marked  for  his 
consistent,  earnest  Christian  character,  that, 
on  the  formation  of  the  church  in  Hulakegh, 
he  was  chosen  as  its  first  deacon.  But 
his  was  to  be  a  very  brief  earthly  service. 
While  he  lived,  he  gave  himself,  with  all  his 
heart,  to  the  duties  of  his  ofQce,  and  to  gen- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  175 

eral  evangelistic  effort  among  all  classes ;  so 
that,  at  his  death,  "  all  the  village  wept," 
Protestants  and  Armenians  alike.  His  one 
thought  was,  "  What  more  can  be  done  to 
advance  Christ's  work  among  us?  "  But,  in 
the  autumn  of  1870,  he  was  seized  with 
typhoid-fever,  and  felt  from  the  first  that  his 
end  was  near.  He  had  no  fear  of  death,  but 
calmly  attended  to  all  necessary  business,  as 
if  he  were  but  going  on  a  journey.  His 
greatest  care  was  for  the  church  ;  and,  when 
reason  was  dethroned,  the  current  of  thought 
was  still  the  same. 

Now  he  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  his 
"dark,  smoky,  narrow  dwelling,  to  go  and 
dwell  in  a  royal  palace,  full  of  light  and 
glory,"  and  was  urging  those  about  him  to 
be  ready  to  accompany  him.  Again  he  had 
"  drunk  to  the  fill  of  the  living  water  which 
Jesus  promised  to  the  woman  of  Samaria," 
and  invited  othera  to  drink  too,  and  see  how 


176  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

sweet  it  was  ;  and  yet  again  liis  couch  was 
covered  with  every  variety  of  beautiful  and 
sweet-scented  flowers  from  paradise  ;  and  he 
expressed  surprise  that  those  about  him  could 
not  see  and  smell  their  beauty  and  sweetness 
as  he  did.  Apparently  almost  entirely  un- 
conscious of  pain,  and  reveling  amid  such 
delights,  he  was  enjoying  on  earth  rapturous 
foretastes  of  heaven.  To  all  the  church- 
members  who  visited  him,  his  one  charge 
was,  "  Care  well  for  the  church,  and  labor  in 
hope.  These  clouds  will  soon  all  pass  away, 
and  God  will  again  bless  his  own  cause." 
When  his  wife  inquired,  "  Why  do  you  not 
talk  to  us  ?  "  he  replied,  "  I  do  not  need  to 
do  so.  I  have  already,  when  in  health,  said 
enough  to  3^ou  ;  and  now  I  only  add,  '  Let 
my  death  put  the  seal  of  truth  to  all  my 
counsels.'  " 

Once  only  did  he  allude  to  his  sufferings, 
saying,  "  My  body  is  filled  with  pain,  but 


GBACE  ILLUSTRATED.  177 

my  soul  with  joy."  Unlike  Avak,  lie  de- 
clined to  call  a  physician,  saying  it  would 
do  no  good ;  and,  when  near  his  end,  he 
set  apart  the  sum  he  should  have  paid  for 
medical  service,  sajdng,  "Pay  this  for  the 
missionary  work  in  Koordistan." 

At  last,  conscious  that  his  end  was  near, 
he  uttered  a  few  last  words  to  those  about 
him,  and  adding,  "  I  shall  talk  no  more," 
closed  his  eyes  in  death.  The  most  blessed 
memory  which  he  left  behind  him  was  that 
of  his  character  as  the  peacemaker.  And  he 
passed  away  at  a  time  when  a  threatened 
division  in  the  church  seemed  to  plead  most 
effectively  for  the  longer  tarrying  of  such  as 
he.  This  second  pillar  removed,  it  almost 
seemed  that  the  little  church  could  not  sur- 
vive. But,  though  the  two  leaders  were 
gone,  there  remained  too  many  of  kindred 
spirit,  too  many  loving,  praying  Christian 
souls,  men  and  women,  and  they  are  led  by  a 


178  GRACE  rLLUSTEATED. 

pastor  of  too  much  Christian  experience,  to 
allow  the  candlestick  to  be  removed  out  of 
its  place. 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  179 


XV. 

DER  KEVORK. 

TN  our  ramble  in  the  missionary  garden, 
we  shall  light  upon  some  specimens  of 
doubtful  genus,  requiring  the  Master's 
analysis  to  decide  whether  they  are  plants 
of  his,  or  only  weeds.  Such  an  one  we  have 
in  Der  Kevork  ("  Priest  George  "). 

On  reaching  Harpoot  in  1857,  we  found 
in  mission  employ,  and  for  the  time  being 
occupying  the  Harpoot  pulpit,  a  man  of 
about  forty-five  years,  of  a  rather  stout 
build,  and  sluggish  movement,  whose  face 
wore  a  somewhat  sinister  look,  together  with 
one  of  triumph  and  self-satisfaction,  wliich 
combined  seemed  to  say,  "  I've  won  a 
victory,  and  got  a  reward,  and  am  ready  to 


180  GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED. 

tell  all  how  to  do  the  same."  When  sabbath 
came,  and  he  rose  to  preach,  his  delight 
seemed  to  be  to  pound  the  pulpit  with  his 
clinched  fist,  and  throw  forth  in  a  spiteful, 
son-of-thunder  tone,  sentences,  which,  I  sub- 
sequently learned,  were  aimed  against  the 
absent  sinners  from  whom  he  had  so  recently- 
separated,  the  adherents  of  the  Armenian 
Church,  and  particularly  the  priests  and 
vartabecls,  for  whom  no  terms  of  condemna- 
tion seemed  to  him  quite  adequate.  "  This 
man,"  said  I,  "is  a  very  pugnacious 
preacher.  Pity  he  can't  put  a  little  more 
love  into  his  tones."  He  soon  came  to  call 
on  the  new  missionary,  and,  sitting  down  by 
his  side,  began  to  rattle  off  a  string  of  unin- 
telligible sentences,  taking,  it  for  granted,  as 
do  all  in  this  land,  that,  of  course,  all  Ameri- 
cans speak  Armenian.  Of  one  sentiment  he 
resolved  to  compel  an  understanding  by  a 
Blow,  measured  utterance  of  "Eench  —  vore 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  181 

—  emus  —  ay  —  koogut  —  ay,  —  yev  —  eench 

—  vore  —  koogut  —  ay —  emus  —  ay."  Find- 
ing that  decrease  of  his  speed  did  not  in- 
crease the  force  of  my  understanding,  he 
opened  the  Testament  at  Acts  iv.  32,  and 
helped  me  to  translate  his  utterance  as 
"  That  which  mine  is  yours  is,  and  that 
which  yours  is  mine  is."  There  I  had  it. 
The  preacher,  like  most  of  his  class,  a  son 
of  poverty  and  covetousness  combined,  not 
satisfied  with  the  rather  fat  salary  paid 
him  from  the  missionary  treasury,  proposed 
to  divide  possessions  with  the  new-comer 
from  the  golden-hilled  land  beyond  the 
waters.  This  impression  was  confirmed, 
when,  some  days  afterwards,  he  came  to  put 
his  text  into  practical  use  by  helping  him- 
self from  the  missionary  wood-pile. 

Observation  during  the  week  impressed 
me  rather  too  forcibly  Avith  the  idea  that 
the  new  convert  was  lazy.     "  Too  forcibly," 


182  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

I  say ;  for  to  one  fresh  from  live,  stirring 
Yankee-land,  all  the  Orient  seems  to  be 
peopled  with  a  dead-and-alive  race  ;  and,  of 
course,  any  individual  sluggard  is  compara- 
tively too  harshly  judged.  But  years  of 
observation  have  not  only  justified  the 
opinion  then  formed,  that  this  particular 
priest  was  covetous  and  lazy,  but  also  that 
he  is  but  a  representative  of  his  class.  It 
would  seem,  that,  by  some  mysterious  pro- 
cess, the  holy  oil  of  consecration  inoculates 
them  all  with  these  two  incurable  distempers. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  Der  Kevork's  frailties 
seemed  day  by  day  less  hopeful  of  removal, 
and  all  the  more  so,  because  he  imagined 
that  the  missionaries  dare  not  offend  a 
person  of  his  importance.  The  wood-pile 
embargo  weakened  somewhat  this  confidence, 
which  received  a  more  violent  shock  when 
the  missionaries  took  possession  of  the  city 
pulpit,  and  he  was  located  in  the  neif^^"^     - 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  183 

ing  village  of  Husenik,  with  instructions  to 
open  a  school. 

He  must  now  make  a  demonstration 
suited  to  alarm  his  misguided  employers, 
and  bring  them  to  terms, — more  money,  and 
less  work,  and  that  in  the  place  of  his 
choice,  or  let  them  tremble  at  the  prospect 
of  losing  so  important  a  proselyte. 

So  one  day  a  good  Protestant  brother, 
with  a  face  the  image  of  despair  and  alarm, 
rushed  panting  into  our  house,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Der  —  Kevork  —  is  —  parleying  — 
with  —  the  —  Armenians ! "  The  response 
of  a  hearty  laugh  and  "  Praise  the  Lord  for 
it,"  was  to  him  inexplicable  trifling  with 
a  solemn  matter ;  for  he  had  no  doubt  that 
the  breaking  of  such  a  pillar  would  bring  a 
Dagon-temple  ruin  on  the  Protestant  cause. 
But  not  so  we.  So  when,  shortly  after,  we 
received  from  him  a  letter,  inquiring,  "  If  I 
remain  in  your  service  hereafter,  how  much 


184  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

will  my  salary  be?"  we  at  once  replied, 
"  See  Matt.  xxvi.  15.  Your  salary  will  here- 
after be  five  paras "  (half  a  cent)  "  per 
month." 

The  result  was  his  immediate  employment 
by  the  Armenians  of  Husenik  as  their 
preacher,  followed  by  a  shout  of  triumph,  to 
tell  all  the  people  that  the  Protestant  cause 
was  ruined. 

So  far  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  our 
plant  is  any  thing  more  than  a  mere  weed, 
a  tare  of  the  enemy's  sowing  in  the  garden 
of  the  Lord.  But  here  begins  a  different 
manifestation.  While  in  missionary  employ, 
his  scanty  store  of  preaching-material,  and 
perhaps  scantier  supply  of  Christian  charity, 
had  constrained  him  to  resort  to  that  most 
abundant  and  accessible  of  all  stores,  —  abuse 
of  those  who  differ  from  us. 

But,  once  more  inside  their  church,  he  be- 
gan to  surprise  aU  the  Armenians,  and  offend 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  185 

many,  by  preaching  to  them  the  fervid  and 
searching  evangelical  sermons  which  he  had 
heard  from  the  apostolic  Dunmore.  And  the 
result  was  such  a  ferment  m  that  town  as 
years  of  missionary  preaching  could  not  have 
produced.  Contrary  to  our  expectation,  he 
did  not  abuse  the  missionaries,  nor  say  that 
we  were  in  error.  He  only  compromised 
with  his  own  conscience  by  conforming  to 
certain  rites,  and  repeating  certain  petitions 
to  the  saints,  which  their  church-service  re- 
quires. The  Armenians  of  Husenik  had  just 
built  them  a  large  and  fine  stone  church ;  and 
their  new  preacher  made  its  arches  resound 
with  truths  new  to  the  crowds  who  flocked 
to  hear  him. 

The  result  was  loud  and  bitter  complaint 
by  some,  who  exclaimed,  "  This  Prote  is  lead- 
ing us  all  astray  from  the  faith  of  our 
fathers !  "  And  when,  one  day,  from  some 
imperfection   in  its  construction,  the    noble 


186  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

pile  fell  flat,  just  after  the  priest  had  been 
preaching,  they  declared  that  the  bawling  of 
that  son  of  thunder  had  thrown  it  down. 

He  must  preach  smoother  things,  or  lose 
his  place.  And  preach  them  he  did  for  a 
little  time,  till  one  day  he  rose  in  his  place, 
and  told  a  dream.  During  the  preceding 
night  he  had  died,  and  gone  to  the  judgment- 
seat.  With  fear  and  dread,  he  heard  the 
Saviour  call  one  and  another  and  another, 
and  declare  their  eternal  destiny  for  weal  or 
woe,  and  bid  the  angels  execute  his  sen- 
tence. Near  the  throne  were  seven  3"awning 
mouths  of  as  many  different  hells;  the 
seventh  and  deepest  being  reserved  for  un- 
faithful ministers  of  the  gospel. 

At  length  his  own  turn  came,  and,  fixing, 
upon  him  a  look  of  anger,  the  judge  inquired, 
"  Why  have  you  ceased  to  preach  to  the 
people  the  truths  which  I  bade  you  tell 
them?"     "I  was  speechless,"  said  he ;  "for 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  187 

I  had  clone  this  only  to  please  you,  and  not 
to  satisfy  my  conscience,  and  please  my 
Master.  So  he  called  two  mighty  angels, 
and  said  to  them,  '  Take  this  unfaithful 
priest,  and  cast  him  into  the  seventh  hell.' 

"  They  seized  me,  and  were  dragging  me 
towards  the  mouth,  when,  uttering  a  shriek 
of  despair,  I  awoke.  And  now  I  can  keep 
silence  no  longer.  I  must  and  shall  tell  you 
all  the  truth." 

The  result  was,  that  the  place  soon  became 
too  hot  for  him ;  and  he  accepted  a  call  to  an 
Armenian  church  in  Harpoot,  where  he  re- 
mained ten  years  or  more,  preaching  with 
more  or  less  faithfulness,  but  with  a  con- 
science ill  at  ease  from  conformity  to  the 
customs  of  the  church.  On  the  approach  of 
Easter,  when  all  are  expected  to  confess,  and 
partake  of  the  communion,  his  daughter  once 
found  him  weeping  over  his  Bible,  and  asked, 
"  Father,  why  do  you  do  these  things,  if 
they  are  against  your  conscience  ?  " 


188  GRACE  ILLUSTBATED. 

"I  would  not,"  lie  replied,  "if  I  were 
young,  or  had  a  grown-up  son  to  care  for 
me/'  While  here,  though  his  preaching  had 
some  awakening  power  ujDon  the  masses, 
who  heard  him  gladly,  and  did  many  things, 
few,  if  any,  did  the  one  thing  needful  ;  for 
his  practice  in  conforming  to  church  mum- 
mery seemed  to  deprive  the  gospel  word  of 
its  ultimate  divine  force  to  convert  the  soul. 
The  result  was  the  development  of  a  phari- 
saical  spirit  of  reform  in  some  directions, 
while  leaving  the  root  of  evil  untouched. 

Some,  indeed,  stirred  by  his  preaching  to 
hunger  for  the  bread  of  life,  found  their  way 
to  the  Protestant  church ;  but,  for  the  con- 
sciences of  most  awakened  ones,  he  had  some 
ready  salve  which  was  effectual  in  soothing 

« 

them  to  rest. 

If  he  ever  himself  felt  the  Spirit's  power 
in  his  heart,  his  sinful  compliance  has  so 
dulled  his  perceptions,  and  the  teachings  of 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  189 

liis  church  (practically  ignoring,  if  not  deny- 
ing, the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  days  subsequent 
to  the  apostles)  have  so  obscured  his  mental 
vision,  that,  instead  of  directing  the  troubled 
sinner  to  the  only  Physician,  he  finds  for  him 
in  outward  works  an  opiate  for  an  awakened 
conscience. 

But  in  Harpoot,  too,  difficulties  arose ;  and, 
some  months  since,  he  accepted  a  call  to 
Gaban  Maden,  where,  doubtless,  he  will  run 
much  the  same  course,  and  go,  ere  many 
years,  to  that  judgment-seat  before  which,  in 
vision,  he  trembled  and  shrieked. 

Fortunately  we  are  not  called  upon  to  do 
Christ's  work  of  judgment ;  for,  "  if  we 
were,"  as  a  good  old  man  once  said,  "  we 
should  let  many  into  heaven  who  don't 
belong  there,  and  keep  out  many  who  do." 


190  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XVI. 

"THE  LORD'S   BEDROS." 

■yTR.  DUNMORE  had  not  been  long  in 
Harpoot,  before  he  was  able  to  write, 
that  a  "  notorious  tippler  "  had  been  won  to 
the  truth. 

Nor  were  these  early  hopes  to  be  disap- 
pointed. The  tippler  not  only  became  and 
continued  a  sober  man,  but,  infinitely  better, 
a  sincere  Christian. 

He  at  once  began  to  devote  a  large  part  of 
his  time  to  efforts  to  lead  others  to  the  truth, 
supporting  himself  and  family  by  laboring  a 
part  of  the  time  at  his  trade  as  a  gunsmith. 
A  man  of  much  native  tact  and  slirewdness, 
though  uneducated,  he  soon  became  a  walk- 
ing  concordance   of    the    Scriptures;   being 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  191 

always  ready  to  give  chapter  and  verse.  He 
was,  besides,  entirely  fearless  in  prosecuting 
his  evangelistic  labors;  so  that,  ere  long,  Mr. 
Dunmore  wisely  judged  that  he  should  be 
employed  as  a  permanent  missionary  helper ; 
and  from  that  day  to  tliis,  eighteen  years,  he 
has,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  been 
thus  employed,  winning  many  souls  to  Christ, 
for,  from  the  first,  he  fixed  his  heart  on 
this  single  aim.  His  tact  in  so  quoting 
Scripture  as  to  silence  opposers  enables  him 
to  win  his  way  where  most  would  retire 
abashed ;  while  his  simplicity  and  earnestness 
of  Christian  character  give  him  great  power 
in  convincing  those  who  approach  him.  An 
incident  in  liis  early  labors  will  illustrate 
this.  He  started  for  the  village  of  Haboosie, 
distant  some  twelve  miles  from  Harpoot, 
and  meeting  successively  three  men  on  the 
way,  who  inquired  whither  he  was  going,  he 
was,  on  informing  them,  met  by  the  reply 


192  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

"  There  is  a  certain  Torose  there,  by  winning 
whom  to  Protestantism,  you  will  convince  us, 
also,  of  its  truth.  Bedros  needed  no  other 
challenge  to  find  out  and  labor  for  this  wicked 
and  apparently  incorrigible  023poser ;  and  he 
was  soon  won,  not  only  to  Protestantism,  but, 
better  still,  apparently  to  Christ ;  and,  though 
his  has  been  a  hard  fight  against  his  old 
nature,  such  is  his  reputation  for  saintliness, 
that  he  has  been  called  even  by  a  sick  priest 
to  read  and  pray  with,  in  hope  of  healing 
him. 

If  there  be  a  stronghold  of  opposition, 
Bedros  is  the  man  to  enter  it,  either  by  direct 
attack  or  by  stratagem. 

Such,  for  centuries,  has  been  the  haughty 
insolence  of  the  Turks  to  the  Armenians  here, 
that,  till  the  coming  of  missionaries,  they  did 
not  even  allow  them  to  bent  a  goachnag^  a 
piece  of  board  used  in  some  places  to  sum- 
mon the  people  to  church.     In  Harpoot  city, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  193 

Mr.  Dunmore  first  used  such  a  board  for  his 
own  meetings ;  and,  in  time,  the  Armenians 
followed  suit. 

It  was  a  more  difficult  thing  to  introduce 
the  custom  in  outlying  places,  and  especially 
in  Palu,  where  Bedros  was  for  a  time  labor- 
ing, because  the  foolish  Armenians,  jealous  of 
the  Protestants  for  enjoying  a  privilege  which 
they  dared  not  claim,  complained  to  the  Turks 
that  that  Protestant  was  breaking  the  law; 
and  the  governor  of  the  city  forbade  Bedros 
to  beat  his  goachnag  again.  But,  hearing  that 
the  pasha  of  the  district  was  coming  with  a 
retinue  of  soldiers,  he  resolved  by  one  bold 
stroke  to  stop  the  mouths  of  all  opposers ;  and 
just  as  his  Excellency,  with  all  his  retinue, 
came  down  the  hillside  opposite  the  Pro- 
testant church,  Bedros  went  upon  the  roof, 
and  gave  out  a  loud,  emphatic  rub-a-dub-dub, 
rub-a-dub-dub,  from  his  board,  and  then 
hastily     descending,    and    outrunning    the 

13 


194  GRACE  ILLIJSTEATED. 

Armenians  who  started  to  complain  to  the 
pasha,  he  paid  his  respects  to  him,  and  at 
once  entered  a  complaint  against  them  as 
men  tiying  to  restrain  him  in  the  enjoyment 
of  his  religious  right  to  call  his  people 
together  for  worship.  A  stern  rebuke  to 
them,  with  an  order  to  let  him  alone,  sent 
them  away  unheard  ;  and  henceforth  they, 
too,  began  to  use  a  goachnag. 

Calling  once  at  a  monastery,  and  upon  a 
vartabed,  a  relative  of  his,  he  was  rudely 
repulsed  with,  "  You  have  apostatized :  I  don't 
know  you." — "Very  well,"  replied  Bedros, 
"  if  I  have  strayed,  yoft  should  have  sought 
me.  But,  instead  of  this,  I  have  sought  you ; 
and  you  must  now  by  this  gospel  convince 
me  of  my  errors."  Ill  prepared  for  a  conflict 
with  such  a  weapon,  the  vartahed  fled  to 
another  room  of  the  monastery,  m  which  the 
Turkish  governor  of  Palu  was  a  guest.  But 
Bedros  was  not  to  be  shaken  off  so  easily, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  195 

and  at  once  followed  him.  Being  asked  by 
the  governor  who  he  was,  he  replied,  "  I 
am  a  Protestant  preacher  of  the  gospel ;  but 
this  Christian  vartahed  refuses  me  lodgings." 
— • "  Be  my  guest,  then,"  he  replied ;  and, 
turning  to  the  vartahed^  asked,  "  Is  not  yoiu" 
gospel  the  same  ? "  He  failing  to  answ^er, 
Bedi'os  replied,  "  It  is ;  but  he  does  not 
receive  it.  To  prove  this,  let  him  say  whether 
some  things  which  I  say  are  not  true."  At 
this  the  governor  laughed  heartily,  and  said, 
"  Say  on."  —  "  First  of  all,  then,"  said  Bedros, 
"  the  gospel  says,  '  If  thine  enemy  hunger, 
feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink : '  but 
this  vartahed  does  not  receive  us,  though  we 
are  his  friends  and  relatives."  At  this  the 
governor  said  to  the  vartahed^  "  You  have 
done  wrong,  and  should  repent,"  at  which  the 
latter  left  in  confusion,  but  soon  returned, 
and  beckoned  Bedros  to  follow  him,  who, 
having  taken  supper  with  the  governor,  did 


196  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

SO.  Seated  in  another  room,  the  vartahed 
told  Bedros  that  he  did  not  hate,  but  pity, 
him  for  his  errors.  "  Convince  me  of  them, 
then,  by  this  book,"  was  the  instant  reply  of 
Bedros,  pulling  out  his  Testament.  "  I  will 
try,"  replied  the  vartahed.  "  Tell  me,  then, 
whence  you  have  authority  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel ?  "  —  "  Here  in  1  Pet.  ii.  9,"  was  the  ready 
reply,  "it  is  said  to  common  Christians^  '  Ye 
are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priestJwod, 
.  .  .  that  ye  should  show  forth  the  praises 
of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvelous  light.'  In  Acts  viii.  4, 
w*e  read  that  common  Christians  went  every- 
where preaching  the  word.  And  here  in 
1  Pet.  iv.  10,  'tis  said,  '  As  eve^y  man  hath 
received  the  gift,  even  so  minister  the  same 
one  to  another.'  "  Unable  to  meet  this  array 
of  texts,  the  vartahed  changed  the  subject. 
Another  vartahed  coming  in,  and  the  servants 
of   the   monastery   gathering   around    them, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  197 

Bedros  then  spent  four  hours  in  faithfully 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  at  the  close  was 
followed  to  his  room  by  a  white-haired  old 
man,  who,  telling  him  of  a  pilgrimage  made 
by  him  to  Jerusalem  in  the  vain  hope  of 
finding  peace  of  conscience,  added,  "  I  am 
ignorant.  I  do  not  know  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. "Will  you  tell  me  what  I  must  do  to 
be  saved?" 

The  poor  okl  man  listened  as  for  his  life, 
while  Bedros  told  the  story  of  the  cross,  and, 
at  the  close,  exclaimed,  "  Alas !  I  have  lost 
my  days !  "  and  continued  asking  questions 
till  past  midnight. 

Warned  by  tlie  people  of  Palu  to  desist 
from  a  proposed  journey  into  the  mountain- 
ous district  to  the  north,  as  two  men  had 
just  been  robbed  and  murdered  there,  he 
assured  them  that  he  was  ready  not  only  to 
be  robbed,  but  to  die  if  need  be,  for  the  sake 
of  XDreaching   the   gosx3el    to    his    perishing 


198  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

countrymen  in  that  district.  So  go  he  did, 
and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Koords,  six 
of  whom,  entering  a  house  where  he  was  a 
guest,  robbed  him  of  his  watch  and  aha,  a 
sort  of  cloak. 

To  the  expostulations  of  the  host,  the 
robber  chief  replied,  "  Were  God  to  come 
down  from  heaven,  he  could  not  prevent  our 
taking  what  this  man  has." 

He  then  demanded  the  rest  of  Bedros' 
clothes,  and  his  money,  which  he  refused  to 
give  up,  unless  force  were  used ;  and  then  he 
so  set  the  robber's  sin  before  him,  and  so 
excited  his  fears  by  appealing  to  the  Moham- 
medan belief,  that,  at  the  judgment,  the 
wicked  must  make  good  all  the  wrong  in- 
flicted on  others,  that  he  recovered  back  his 
watch  and  aba.  His  argument,  in  short, 
was  this,  "  Do  you  believe  there  is  a  God  ?  " 
_  u  Yes."  —  "  Will  all  men  die  ?  "  —  "  Yes." 
—  "And  be    judged?" —"Yes."  — "  They 


GRACE   ILLUSTEATED.  199 

will  indeed,"  continued  Bedros  ;  "  and  what 
then  can  you  do  ?  If  a  naked  man  were  in 
the  water,  and  ten  men,  pointing  their  swords 
at  his  breast,  should  say, '  Give  us  one  para,'  " 
(a  tenth  of  a  cent),  "  '  or  we  will  kill  you,' 
could  he  give  it?"  —  "No,"  replied  the 
Koord.  "  So  you,"  continued  Bedros,  "  will 
be  naked  before  God  in  the  judgment,  when 
he  shall  demand  of  you  this  watch  and  aha^ 
and,  on  your  failing  to  restore  them,  send 
you  to  the  place  of  everlasting  torment." 

The  result  was,  that  the  Koord,  having 
returned  what  he  had  taken,  begged  a  copy 
of  the  Testament,  from  which  Bedros  went 
on  to  preach  to  him  till  half-past  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  robber  lay 
down  to  rest.  But  Bedros,  though  a  firm 
behever  in  the  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
fearing  that  this  unclean  spirit  had  only  left 
for  a  time,  sat  and  watched  his  sleeping 
convert   till  dawn,  who,  on   waking,  began 


200  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

with  much  delight  to  show  his  Testament  to 
his  companions,  and  to  tell  them  of  the 
wonderful  truths  which  Bedros  had  told  him 
from  it.  At  leaving,  Bedros  still  feared  that 
the  robbers  would  intercept  and  rob  him  on 
his  journey,  as  they  had  once  before  done  to 
a  guest,  when  bribed  by  the  host  to  let  him 
depart  in  peace  ;  but  his  fears  were  ground- 
less. And  thus  summer  and  winter,  during 
most  of  these  long  years,  sometimes  through 
the  pathless  snows  of  the  mountains,  and 
often  in  perils  of  robbers,  but  never  robbed, 
he  has  come  and  gone  with  a  burning  apos- 
tolic zeal  which  deservedly  won  for  him  the 
name,  "Apostle."  A  little  missionary  girl 
five  years  old  was  so  impressed  by  what  she 
heard  of  his  Christian  zeal,  that  hearing  us 
address  him  as  Bedros,  and  curious  to  know 
whether  he  was  the  one,  inquired,  "  Are  you 
the  Lord's  Bedros?"  He  "hoped  he  was," 
and  so  do  we  assuredly.     Sure  we  are  that 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  201 

he  bas  been  instrumental  in  leading  many  to 
Christ.  In  these  latter  clays,  with  the  weight 
of  3'ears  increasing  upon  him,  his  vigor  and 
efficiency,  if  not  his  zeal,  have  been  less  con- 
spicuous ;  but  he  seems  to  be  the  Lord's 
Bedros  still,  aiming  with  singleness  of  pur- 
pose to  do  the  work  which  the  Master  gives 
him. 


202  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XVII. 
"THIEF  MAGHAK." 

A  ND  a  slirewcl,  sharp  one  he  was,  till  the 
gospel  got  hold  of  him,  which  it  began 
to  do  in  one  of  his  oil-peddling  tours. 

From  that  day  he  became  so  upright  in  his 
dealings  as  even  to  redeem  from  reproach 
the  more  contemptuous  name  of  "  Prote  ^ 
Maghak,"  which  his  adherence  to  the  gospel 
fixed  upon  him.  Even  discussions  over  rites 
and  ceremonies,  usually  worse  than  useless, 
can  be  useful,  as  was  seen  in  his  case.  Per- 
haps we  should  rather  say,  that  passages  from 
God's  word  are  so  gemlike  in  their  luster  as 
to  glitter  even  when  cast  among  such  rub- 

1  An  abreviatiou  of  "Protestant,"  but  so  pronounced 
as  to  mean  "porode,"  a  "leper." 


THIEF   MAGHAK. 


GEACE  ILLUSTEATED.  203 

bish.  Being  present  at  such  a  discussion  in 
the  village  of  Iclimeli,  IMaghak's  attention 
was  drawn  to  a  passage  quoted  by  one  of 
the  disputants :  "  Now  the  Spirit  speaketh 
expressly,  that,  in  the  latter  times,  some  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  .  .  .  forbidding  to 
marry,  and  commanding  to  abstain  from 
meats."  He  came  away,  saying  to  himself, 
"  These  false  teachers  can  not  be  the  so 
much  reviled  Protestants  ;  for  their  mission- 
aries are  married,  and  they  make  no  rules 
about  abstaining  from  meats ;  while  our 
bishops  and  vartabeds  never  marry,  and  are 
very  scrupulous  about  meat-eating  on  certain 
days."  The  result  of  these  meditations  was, 
that  he  resolved  to  obtain  a  "  Protestant 
Bible,"  and  examine  for  himself ;  and,  though 
knowing  not  a  letter  of  the  alphabet,  he  at 
once  bought  the  book,  adding  its  key,  a 
primer.  Putting  the  latter  in  his  bosom 
while^on  his  peddling  tours,  and  exacting  a 


204  GKACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

lesson  from  every  reader  to  whom  he  sold  his 
sesame  oil,  he  was  soon  able,  though  stam- 
meringly,  to  study  the  Bible  for  himself. 
The  change  was  immediate  and  complete. 
From  being  notorious  for  dishonesty,  he 
became  equally  famous  for  integrity  in  his 
dealings  ;  so  that  even  the  Turkish  owner  of 
the  soil  which  he  and  his  brothers  cultivated 
ceased  to  measure  his  share  of  the  crop, 
taking  Maghak's  word  for  it.  Soon  his  two 
brothers,  and  all  the  members  of  their  united 
households,  became  adherents  of  the  despised 
faith,  now  no  longer  despised  in  this  region ; 
for  such  has  been  the  power  of  the  gospel  in 
externally  saving  people  from  the  power  of 
wickedness,  that,  alike  among  Mohamme- 
dans and  nominal  Christians,  Prote  no  longer 
means  leper,  but  an  adherent  of  a  purer 
faith  than  that  of  the  mass. 

Maghak  still  lives,  though  too  feeble  for 
any  service,  except  that   of  illustrating  the 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  205 

power  of  divine  grace  by  a  consistent  Chris- 
tian life. 

He  can  not  long  survive;  but  while  the 
smoky  light  of  his  sesame  oil  is  giving  place 
to  the  still  more  smoky  emanations  ^  of  kero- 
sene, and  the  oil-trade  fast  becoming  a  thing 
of  the  past,  many  a  year  must  go  by  ere  the 
light  of  the  oil-peddler's  life  shall  cease  to 
shine  in  his  native  village,  and  others  which 
have  been  reached  by  his  story. 

1  As  the  kerosene  is  burned  iu  common  wick  lamps, 
and  ixsually  -with  the  wick  pnlled  high  up,  the  already 
blackened  rafters  of  Oriental  village  homes  are  rapidly 
enriching  themselves  with  a  more  luxurious  accumula- 
tion of  the  essential  soot. 


206  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


XVIII. 

DIVERSE   GIFTS. 

rTlHE  village  of  Sliukhaji,  perched  upon 
the  sides  of  a  spur  of  the  Taurus  Moun- 
tains, some  twenty  miles  east  of  Harpoot, 
early  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  missionary 
labor  by  the  location  there  of  a  native  helper 
by  Mr.  Dunmore,  the  first  missionary  in 
the  Harpoot  field.  And  while,  for  several 
reasons,  and  among  these  the  death  of  two 
native  laborers  successively  located  there, 
the  gospel  fruit  has  not  been  as  abundant  as 
we  desire,  it  has  furnished  rather  striking 
specimens  of  Christian  life,  two  of  which, 
by  their  contrasted  character,  suggest  the 
heading  given  above.  The  first  man  to  de- 
clare himself  an  adherent  of  the  gospel  was 


GRACE   ILLUSTRATED.  207 

a  liardy  muleteer,  Arakial  ("  Apostle  ") 
by  name,  whose  nature  and  vocation  had 
combined  to  make  a  resolute,  independent, 
hard-headed,  stout-handed  man,  with  whom 
few  cared  to  come  into  conflict.  And,  when 
the  gospel  took  hold  of  his  sturdy  manhood, 
it  took  strong  hold,  and  kept  it.  Everybody 
knew  that  that  muleteer  was  an  adherent  of 
the  new  doctrines. 

A  brother's  wife,  residing  in  the  same 
house,  soon  followed  him,  and  suffered  what 
he  could  not,  —  persecution.  This  woman 
was  an  especial  object  of  hatred  to  Arakial's 
wife,  by  whom,  in  the  absence  of  the  hus- 
band, she  was  treated  in  a  shamefully  cruel 
manner.  Resolved  to  put  an  end  to  this, 
Arakial,  on  his  return,  gave  his  wife  a  whip- 
ping, which  cured  her  of  her  propensity  (or, 
at  least,  the  indulgence  of  it)  to  torment  her 
sister-in-law.  When  expostulated  with  by 
Mr.  Dunmore  for  this  energetic  method  of 


208  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

administering  family  discipline,  lie  replied, 
"  Oh !  I  was  only  giving  her  a  needed  curtain- 
lecture."  The  native  helper  dying,  the  vil- 
lagers rose  in  force  to  prevent  his  burial ;  but 
going  himself,  and  digging  a  grave,  he  stood 
by  it,  pickax  in  hand,  requesting  any  one  of 
the  mob  who  desired  to  be  buried  first  to 
come  on  at  once.  The  young  preacher  was 
buried  in  peace. 

And  our  new  convert  was  equally  zealous 
in  effort  to  lead  others  to  the  truth,  though, 
in  doing  so,  he  showed  himself  somewhat  of 
a  "  son  of  thunder,"  presenting  quite  freely 
the  aggressive,  vindictive  side  of  the  gospel, 
and  being  a  little  too  much  inclined  to  blame 
people  for  not  coming  to  the  light  as  readily 
and  quickly  as  had  he. 

He  still  hves,  and,  while  enfeebled  by  age 
and  hard  fare,  is  the  same  unflinching  ad- 
lierent  of  truth  and  right  as  he  understands 
it,  and  in  his  deep  poverty  makes  sacrifices 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  209 

for  the  gospel's  sake,  some  of  which  would 
not  be  appreciated  in  enlightened  Christian 
lands ;  such,  for  instance,  as  giving  a  rich 
young  preacher  a  valuable  daughter  gratis^ 
instead  of  taking  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars, 
as  those  villagers  not  adhering  to  the  gospel, 
and  perhaps  even  some  professing  to  do 
that,  would  have  done. 

Come  we  now  to  one  whose  nature  and 
gifts  are  diverse  from  these.  Hazar  was  no 
*'  son  of  thunder,"  but  a  man  of  peace,  of  a 
gentle,  loving  temper,  ruled  less  by  impulse 
than  by  conscience.  A  younger  brother  in  a 
large,  and,  for  that  place,  wealthy  family, 
he,  by  his  quiet  sincerity  and  energy,  took 
the  place  of  leader,  and  had  almost  undis- 
puted control  of  the  family  property.  There 
was  one  thing,  however,  which  he  could  not 
control,  —  a  wife  as  little  inclined  to  gospel 
ways  as  was  she  whom  Arakial  ruled ;  and 
the  result    is,   that,  while   the  latter    soon 

14 


210  GEACE  ILLTTSTEATED. 

changed  her  naughty  ways,  the  former  holds 
to  hers  still. 

Hazar,  having  been  a  "reader"  in  the  old 
church,  was  at  once  ready  for  reading  and 
receiving  the  Scriptures  in  the  modern 
tongue. 

A  visit  to  his  home  would  have  given  one 
a  vivid  idea  of  the  diminutive  amount  of 
real  comfort'  which  even  wealth  usually  pur- 
chases in  this  land.  Wrote  a  missionary 
lady  who  visited  it,  "  "We  went  to  Hazar's 
house,  or  rather  hovel.  As  we  entered,  six 
men  were  taking  breakfast  at  one  table ;  and 
seven  women,  in  another  place,  had  their  food 
upon  the  floor ;  while  four  dirty  urchins 
occupied  another  part  of  the  room.  It  was 
a  scene.  Poor  man  !  he  does  not  get  much 
comfort  at  home.  But  his  trials  have  been 
sanctified  to  him ;  for  I  never  saw  a  more 
exemplary  Christian.  Of  course,  my  testi- 
mony alone  would  not  be  sufficient  to  war- 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  211 

rant  the  declaration;  but  all  others  give  him 
the  same  character." 

The  "  trials  "  alluded  to  were  from  a  long 
and  expensive  conflict  in  the  effort  to  erect  a 
parsonage  and  a  church,  in  which  he  took  the 
lead,  and  which  made  sore  drafts  on  both 
patience  and  purse  ;  he  having  personally- 
contributed  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
while  all  the  property  of  the  family  would, 
probably,  not  exceed  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
And  yet  we,  who  were  deeply  interested  in 
the  case,  and  doing  what  we  could  to  help  it 
on,  did  not  know  till  afterwards  how  much 
it  had  cost  pecuniarily  and  otherwise,  so 
equable  and  calm  was  his  temper,  and  so  un- 
assuming his  manner  at  all  times.  He  had 
consecrated  himself  and  his  all  to  Christ,  and 
took  it  for  granted  that  the  consecration  was 
accepted. 

If  there  was  any  thing  which  we  would 
have  changed,  it  was  this  perfect  uniformity. 


212  GRACE  rLLTJSTRATED. 

Had  he  sometimes  made  his  family  piety  a 
little  less  patient,  a  little  more  forcible  and 
aggressive,  he  might  have  seen  greater 
changes  for  the  better  in  his  large  family 
circle.  Said  a  quiet,  patient  saint  to  a  rest- 
less, aggressive  "  son  of  thunder,"  "  You  do  a 
great  many  things  to  harm  Christ's  work." 
—  "And  you,"  was  the  not  less  truthful 
reply,  "  neglect  a  great  many  things  to  harm 
it." 

This  remark  might  have  been  made  with 
some  justice  of  Hazar  ;  but,  take  him  all  in 
all,  he  was  a  very  good  man,  —  one  of  whom 
it  was  justly  said,  "  I  never  saw  a  more  ex- 
emplary Christian,"  and  "  All  give  him  the 
same  character." 

His  one  great  aim,  prayer,  and  effort  was, 
that  Christ's  work  might  advance. 

But  just  when  he  seemed  indispensable  to 
this  progress,  just  when  the  struggle  over 
the  church  and  parsonage  was  over,  and  we 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  213 

began  to  hope  that  an  independent  church 
would  soon  be  formed  in  Shukhaji,  he  was 
laid  upon  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  at  once 
said,  "  I  shall  not  rise  from  it,  but  shall  die." 
Fearing  lest  members  of  the  family  might, 
after  his  death,  cause  trouble  to  the  little 
Protestant  community,  by  laying  claim  to 
the  property  for  which  he  had  paid  so  heav- 
ily, he  took  pains  to  make  all  legally  safe. 

Some  years  before,  he  had  joined  the  Har- 
poot  church,  but  subsequently  transferred 
his  membership  to  the  church  in  Ichmeh, 
nearer  his  home.  But,  upon  his  sick-bed,  he 
recalled  his  old  love,  and,  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  his  illness,  sent  to  the  Harpoot 
church  a  special  message  of  affection,  add- 
ing, "  Tell  them,  that,  though  I  am  to  die 
to-night,  I  have  never  been  so  peaceful  as 
now."  And  so  he  did  die  that  night,  peace- 
fully trusting  in  Christ  to  the  last.  In  vain 
the  old  priest  came,  and  begged  to  aid  in 


214  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

saving  liis  soul,  saying,  "  Open  your  mouth, 
that  I  may  give  you  the  communion,  —  a 
piece  of  the  body  of  Christ."  He  patiently 
allowed  him  to  read  and  go  through  the  mum- 
meries of  his  church,  keeping  his  mouth 
closed  alike  for  communion  and  rebuke.  He 
knew  in  whom  he  had  believed,  and  knew, 
also,  that  the  old  priest  could  do  him  neither 
good  nor  harm.  To  avoid  an  unseemly 
quarrel,  the  priest  was  also  allowed  to  com- 
mit the  body  to  the  grave  with  the  same 
harmless  forms  ;  for  we  knew  that  the  soul 
was  safe  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  had 
bou2:ht  and  cleansed  it  with  his  own  blood. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  215 


XIX. 

GRACE    ABOUNDING. 

BY  JIES.   O.   P.   ALLEN. 

O  EVENTEEN  years  have  passed  since  tlie 
first  prayer-meeting  was  established  at 
Harpoot.  In  its  early  history,  one  chilly  day 
in  December,  when  the  spacious  room  was 
crowded  with  eager  listeners,  the  attention 
of  the  missionary  was  arrested  by  one  who 
was  present  for  the  first  time.  Her  fine  in- 
tellectual countenance,  dress,  and  grace  of 
manner,  were  in  striking  contrast  to  most 
of  those  around  her.  In  conversation  with 
her  after  the  meeting,  she  showed  no  signs 
of  interest  in  the  truth  which  had  been 
uttered ;  and  there  was  little  expectation 
that   she  would   come   again.      But  in  this 


216  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

case,  as  it  too  frequently  happens,  we  failed  to 
recognize  the  power  of  Him  who  holds  the 
hearts  of  all  in  his  hand,  and  is  able  to  turn 
them  whithersoever  he  will.  From  that 
time  till  her  death  (in  1871),  she  was  in 
constant  attendance,  with  the  exception  of 
the  first  three  years,  when  she  was  occasion- 
ally absent,  and  during  which  time  the  truth 
seemed  to  make  no  impression  on  her  heart. 
She  was  devoted  to  the  world.  She  listened 
attentively  to  religious  conversation  and  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  and  became  famil- 
iar with  the  great  truths  of  salvation,  but 
manifested  a  stern  determination  to  resist 
entreaties  to  seek  Christ. 

But  the  Holy  Spirit  came,  and  she  was 
led  to  see  her  sin  and  danger.  She  fled  to 
the  cross,  and  there  found  the  joy  of  for- 
given sin.  The  change  in  her  life  was  very 
marked.  From  a  proud,  worldly  woman,  she 
became  a  humble  and  self-denying  Christian. 


GEACB  ILLUSTEATED.  217 

The  things  she  counted  gain  before  were 
now  loss.  She  remarked,  one  day,  to  a 
friend,  that  her  husband  was  urging  her  to 
prepare  a  marriage-outfit  for  Hanum  (her 
daughter)  ;  but,  said  she,  "  I  tell  him  it  is 
not  well  to  lay  up  treasures  upon  earth, 
where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt."  And 
she  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  make  the 
quantity  of  clothes  the  custom  required,  and 
which  she  was  amply  able  to  do,  for  the  sole 
reason  that  she  did  not  think  it  worthy  an 
immortal  soul  to  spend  so  much  time  on  that 
which  was  to  perish  so  soon. 

One  of  the  first  lessons  that  the  Spirit 
taught  her  was,  that  not  only  she  herself, 
but  all  she  called  her  own,  belonged  to 
Christ. 

To  the  poor  she  gave  frequently  and 
freely,  and  with  her  own  hands,  but  made 
others  almoners  of  her  contributions  for  the 
cause   of    Christ.      Many   a  gold   coin   she 


218  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

brought  to  the  pastor's  wife,  saying,  "You 
know  better  than  I  what  part  of  the  work 
of  the  Lord  is  most  needy."  It  was  suffi- 
cient for  her  to  know  that  the  money  went 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord.  Her  chil- 
dren, too,  were  consecrated  to  the  Master. 
Her  eldest  son  fitted  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry ;  but,  health  failing,  he  was  not 
able  to  preach,  and  yet  was  able  to  give 
instruction  in  both  seminaries  for  several 
years.  One  daughter  became  the  wife  of 
a  preacher.  Both  she  and  her  husband,  this 
year,  have  joined  the  mother  in  the  better 
land. 

Mariam  was  the  wife  of  a  watchmaker, 
Puroodian  by  name.  She  prayed  with  an 
intense  longing  for  the  conversion  of  her 
husband ;  but  the  "  convenient  time "  did 
not  come  till  years  afterward.  One  day, 
during  a  religious  awakening,  she  came  to 
Ihe  prayer-meeting,  and,  with  a  voice  chok- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  219 

ing  with  emotion,  begged  the  sisters  to  fjray 
for  her  husband.  The  request  was  heeded  ; 
many  fervent  prayers  being  offered  in  his 
behalf.  The  next  day  he  asked  his  son  to 
pray  with  him,  saying  that  his  family  were 
all  going  to  heaven,  but  that  he  was  doomed 
to  perdition.  At  the  meeting  the  following 
week,  she  came  with  a  joyful  heart,  to 
praise  God  for  his  mercy  in  bringing  him  to 
Christ. 

For  years  she  was  in  feeble  health,  being  a 
victim  to  a  lingering  consumption.  She  was 
often  prostrated  by  disease,  but,  if  she  had 
power  to  walk  about,  was  sure  to  come  to 
the  place  of  worship.  She  loved  the  prayer- 
meeting;  and  neither  storms  nor  cold  kept 
her  at  home.  A  year  before  her  death,  one 
wintry  day,  she  came  into  the  meeting,  so 
exhausted  from  the  effort  to  ascend  a  steep 
hill,  that  she  could  not  speak  for  some  mo- 
ments.     One   remarked   to  her,    "  You   are 


220  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

not  able  to  walk  such  a  distance."  She  re- 
plied, "What  shall  I  do?  I  have  a  great 
desire  to  come."  Durinsf  the  following^  win- 
ter,  she  became  very  sick,  and  her  friends 
gave  up  all  hope  of  her  recovery.  But  she 
again  rallied  ;  and  once  more  hope  revived. 

One  morning,  shortly  after,  a  request  came 
to  the  pastor  and  wife  to  visit  her.  As 
they  entered  her  room,  she  said  to  them,  "  I 
am  a  pilgrim.  I  am  going.  I  wish  you  to 
forgive  me,  if  in  any  way  I  have  wronged 
you,  or  injured  your  feelings."  She  had 
always  treated  them  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness. They  never  visited  her  without  re- 
ceiving some  token  of  her  love,  not  given 
on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  but  some- 
tliing  reserved  especially  for  them. 

She  was  sitting  up  in  bed,  and  seemed  as 
well  as  usual;  and  her  friends  tried  to 
assure  her  that  she  was  so.  But  she  con- 
fidently affirmed   that  it  had  been  revealed 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  221 

to  her  that  night,  that  she  was  soon  to  leave 
them.  She  wished  that  all  her  relatives  and 
acquaintances  be  called  ;  and  from  them  she 
sought  forgiveness  for  every  unkind  word. 
She  distributed  the  gold  coins  of  her  neck- 
lace among  her  friends,  giving  to  her  pastor's 
family  several  pieces  as  memorials  of  her 
love.  The  poor  received  from  her  own 
hands  her  clothes,  with  the  exception  of  one 
suit.  When  the  last  garment  had  been  dis- 
posed of,  she  smilingly  said,  "I  have  nothing 
left,  except  the  clothes  for  my  burial." 

For  a  season,  darkness  came  over  her. 
She  —  to  use  her  own  words  —  "lost  her 
Jesus."  But  the  clouds  soon  dispersed ;  and 
He  in  whom  her  soul  had  taken  great 
delight  stood  forth  more  glorious  than  ever 
before.  She  sent  for  her  pastor,  and,  with  a 
countenance  beaming  with  joy,  said,  as  he 
sat  beside  her,  "  I  have  all  things  now.  I 
have   found   my   Jesus:    I  have   found  my 


222  GEACE  ILLUSTKATED. 

Jesus!  He  left  me  for  a  little  while;  but 
he  has  returned."  From  that  time  till  her 
death,  a  few  days  after,  her  mind  was  in 
"perfect  peace."  Death  had  no  terrors  for 
her.  It  was  only  the  door  through  which 
she  would  enter  into  the  "  many  mansions." 
It  was  her  great  desire  that  her  pastor  should 
perform  her  burial  service ;  but  it  so  hap- 
pened, that  there  was  to  be  a  meeting  at  a 
place  some  three  days'  distant  from  Harpoot. 
The  day  for  starting  had  been  fixed.  Should 
the  pastor  go,  and  leave  this  dying  saint? 
He  presented  the  case  before  her,  and  asked 
what  he  should  do.  "  Go,"  was  her  quick 
reply.  "  Of  course,  you  must  go.  Shall  the 
work  of  the  Lord  be  hindered  for  me  ?  It 
will  make  but  little  difference  who  buries  my 
poor  body."  So  the  pastor  bade  her  a  last 
good-by. 

The  following  morning  she   sweetly  and 
peacefully  fell  asleep. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  223 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus!  oh,  how  sweet 
To  be  for  such  a  skimber  meet ! 
With  holy  confidence  to  sing 
That  death  has  lost  its  venomed  sting." 


224  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XX. 

PATIENT   SARKIS. 

npHE  wind,  bearing  the  thistledown  away 
over  hill  and  dale,  deposits  its  seed  to 
grow  and  multiply  on  the  distant  mountain- 
side ;  or,  better  still,  the  little  bird  places 
beside  it  the  seed  of  some  fruit-bearing  tree, 
brought  from  far,  for  a  slower  growth  and  a 
richer  fruitage  to  bless  men  of  coming  time : 
but  more  mysterious  and  blessed  still  is 
God's  providential  work  of  scattering  the 
good  seed  of  his  word  at  times.  Some  sev- 
enty-five miles  north-east  from  Harpoot, 
hemmed  in  among  the  Anti-Taurus  Moun- 
tains, and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Koords, 
are  some  thousands  of  Armenians,  scattered 
over  a  district  of  some  four  hundred  square 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  225 

miles,  mostly  isolated  from  the  mass  of  the 
nation,  and,  till  within  a  few  years,  sunk  in 
the  deepest  spiritual  ignorance,  and  fanati- 
cally attached  to  their  national  church. 
About  twenty-five  years  ago,  Sarkis,  an 
inhabitant  of  the  Kasahah,  or  chief  town 
of  this  district,  visited  Constantinople,  and, 
while  there,  received  a  present  of  a  Testa- 
ment, wliich,  though  unable  to  read,  he  took 
home,  and  hid  in  his  house  ;  for  no  ona  there 
might  then  with  safety  declare  himself  the 
possessor  of  the  hated  Protestant  book. 

The  mass  of  the  people  were  in  the  same 
condition  of  ignorance :  but  a  few  persons, 
called  deratsoos,  specially  trained  for  aiding 
the  priests  in  reading  the  church  service, 
were  possessed  of  the  wonderful  power  of 
reading.  To  one  of  these  he  at  length  in- 
trusted the  secret  of  the  strange  book,  and 
begged  him  to  read  it  to  him. 

Then  the  good  seed  of  the  Word,  so  provi- 

15 


226  GBACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

dentiall}^  wafted  hither  from  far  away,  began 
to  take  root,  and  spring  up.  Others  joined 
the  reader  and  listener ;  and  soon  there  was  a 
little  company  who  held  secret  meetings  for 
reading.  But  secret  they  could  not  long 
remain ;  for  the  words  they  heard  were  as 
fire  shut  up  in  their  hones. 

This  was  especially  true  of  Sarins,  whose 
heart  was  touched,  and  with  meekness  and 
courage  he  began  to  tell  all  abroad  the  con- 
tents of  the  wonderful  volume,  which  he 
himself  soon  learned  to  read.  As  this  must 
be  stopped,  the  priests  and  the  chief  man  of 
the  town  headed  a  mob,  who  went  to  the 
house  of  Sarkis,  beat  him,  cast  him  into 
prison,  and,  making  a  fire  in  a  public  place, 
threw  his  Testament  into  it. 

The  imprisoning  and  beating  were  repeated 
again  and  again,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Like 
the  apostles  before  the  sanhedrim,  he  re- 
plied, "  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of 


GEACE  ILLIJSTRATED.  227 

God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto 
God,  judge  ye.  For  I  can  not  but  speak  the 
things  which  I  have  heard."  To  supply  the 
place  of  the  burned  Testament,  he  went  three 
days'  journey  to  Erzroom,  and  purchased 
another,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  a 
Bible,  and  was  known  by  all  as  a  Protestant. 
Meanwhile,  the  son  of  the  leader  of  the 
mob,  a  young  man,  Hampartsoom  ("  Ascen- 
sion ")  by  name,  attached  himself  to  the  gos- 
pel party,  and  was  told  by  his  father  that  he 
must  forsake  the  society  of  Sarkis,  and  leave 
off  reading  the  forbidden  book,  or  leave  his 
house.  But,  when  he  took  his  wife's  hand 
to  depart,  the  father's  heart  relented.  The 
father  and  an  elder  brother  having  died  not 
long  after,  Hampartsoom,  without  professing 
to  be  a  Protestant,  began  to  hold  meetings 
at  his  house  for  Scripture-reading.  As  the 
priests  dare  not  touch  a  man  of  his  wealth 
and  influence,  one  step  was   gained  in   the 


228  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

direction  of  religious  liberty,  —  tlie  right  to 
read  the  Bible. 

But  it  would  have  been  amusing,  had  it 
not  been  painful,  to  see  the  timidity  of  these 
Bible-readers.  In  1858,  accompanied  by  the 
present  pastor  of  the  Harpoot  church,  I 
started  to  visit  the  place  ;  but  when  in  Tem- 
ran,  some  nine  miles  distant,  we  were  met  by 
Sarkis,  who  had  come  as  their  delegate,  to 
request,  that  unless  proposing  to  remain  in 
the  Kasahah,  so  as  to  protect  them,  we  would 
not  visit  the  place,  and  thus  stir  up  against 
them  the  enmity  of  the  people. 

To  this  we,  of  course,  replied,  "  We  come 
not  for  you  alone,  but  for  all  the  people ;  and 
if  you  are  afraid  of  being  called  our  friends, 
and  suffering  persecution,  you  are  at  liberty 
to  stay  away."  At  first,  all  except  Sarlds 
did  stay  away  ;  but  sixteen  of  them  speedily 
repented  of  their  cowardice,  and,  furnishing 
us  with  a  room  of  their  own,  treated  us  as 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  229 

tlieir  guests.  Among  these  was  not  Ham- 
partsoom,  though  apparently  not  from  fear  of 
persecution,  but,  rather,  fearing  loss  of  influ- 
ence for  good,  as  he  called  it ;  but  during 
our  week's  stay  there,  uniformly  at  nine,  P.M., 
he  rapped  at  our  doors,  and  remained  till  the 
night  was  far  spent,  conversing  on  gospel 
truth.  "  These  sixteen,"  said  he,  "  are  now 
able  to  stand ;  and  I  commit  them  to  you,  and 
go  back  to  the  church  to  win  others,"  Poor 
man  !  In  vain  we  tried  to  show  him  the  sin 
and  danger  of  his  course.  Before  we  left 
the  place,  he  made  us  a  great  feast,  to  which 
were  invited  some  of  the  chief  dignities  of 
the  town,  for  Oriental  courtesy  required  this 
of  him.  And,  at  our  subsequent  visits  to  the 
place,  he  was  uniformly  friendly,  at  times 
even  attending  the  Protestant  meetings ; 
but,  to  the  time  of  his  death,  he  retained  his 
connection  with  the  Armenian  Church,  seem- 
ing to  have  no  deep  heart-experience  of  the 


230  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

power  of  evangelical  truth ;  and,  now  that  he 
is  gone,  his  sons  seem  to  be  still  further 
removed  from  its  influence. 

The  contrast  between  him  and  Sarkis  was 
from  the  first  marked.  "With  the  latter, 
there  was  no  attempt  to  serve  two  masters. 
While  so  patient  as  to  bear  for  many  years 
persecution  of  the  most  violent  kind,  without 
indulging  any  bitter  feeling  towards  his  per- 
secutors, and  so  timid  and  self-distrusting, 
that,  even  to  this  day,  'tis  said  that  he  reads 
family  prayers  from  a  prayer-book,  yet,  in 
all  efforts  to  promote  the  gospel  cause,  he  is 
an  earnest,  efficient  leader,  his  timidity  and 
self-distrust  all  disappearing  when  action  is 
called  for. 

Hard  and  long  was  the  contest  against 
enemies  who  were  resolved  to  prevent  it, 
before  the  little  church-buildmg  was  erected, 
and  longer  and  more  trying  still  the  struggle 
before  a  person  suited   to  be  pastor  of  the 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  231 

prospective  church  was  secured,  and  his 
salary  made  up.  But  at  length  the  end  was 
gained ;  and,  some  months  since,  a  fruit  of 
that  one  Testament  appeared  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  church  of  twenty-four  members 
from  the  Kasahah  and  neighboring  towns, 
with  the  prospect  of,  ere  long,  forming 
anotlier  in  Temran,  while  the  leaven  has 
spread  extensively  throughout  the  district, 
two  other  towns  in  which  are  occupied  by 
evangelical  laborers. 

Meanwhile  a  rich  blessing  has  come  upon 
the  family  of  Sarins.  His  wife,  an  earnest 
Christian,  went  once  rejoicing  down  to 
death's  door,  but  was  raised  up  to  see  one  of 
her  two  daughters  graduate  from  Harpoot 
Female  Seminary,  and  return  to  marry  their 
young  pastor,  and  the  other  now  one  of  the 
most  promising  pupils  in  the  seminary,  both 
sincere  Christians.  But  his  richest  blessing 
is  in  seeing  the  moral  reformation  which  has 


232  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

followed  from  that  Testament  so  providen- 
tially placed  in  his  hands,  and  which,  having 
drawn  in  its  train  hundreds  of  Bibles  and 
Testaments,  and  thousands  of  other  volumes, 
—  primers,  copies  of  "Saints'  Rest,"  Dod- 
dridge's "  Rise  and  Progress,"  "  Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  hymn-books,  catechisms  &c., — 
has  inaugurated  a  moral  change  in  that  hith- 
erto benighted  district,  which  is  but  faintly 
indicated  by  the  fact  of  the  formation  of  the 
little  church.  Years  ago,  when  a  sermon 
was  preached  there  on  the  sin  of  lying,  and 
applied  by  saying,  "  You  know  that  all  of 
you  except  Sarkis  are  liars,"  no  one  took 
offense ;  but  to  make  such  an  application 
now  would  be  both  unjust  and  unsafe  ;  for  a 
moral  sentiment  has  arisen  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  a  public  opinion,  which,  while  it 
demands  truthfulness,  at  least,  from  the  pro- 
fessed friends  of  the  gospel,  makes  them 
resent  the  imputation  of  falsehood. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  233 

And  by  the  side  of  the  patient  man,  after 
so  many  years  of  unwearied  waiting  and 
working,  stand  at  length  some  others  whose 
hearts  are  moved  only  less  deeply  than  his 
own,  to  see  the  entire  district  renovated  by 
the  gospel.  And  we  trust  the  number  will 
go  on  increasing,  till  even  the  surrounding 
Koords  shall  feel  the  influence  of  that  Testa- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Sarkis,  and  of  his 
patient  waiting,  praying,  and  toiling. 

"There  shall  be  an  handfid  of  corn  in 
the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains ; 
the  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Lebanon." 


234  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


XXL 

THE  DESPAIRING   SILVERSMITH. 

fTlHE  modern  gospel-net,  equally  with  that 
of  apostolic  days,  gathers  some  fish  fit 
only  to  be  cast  away.  If,  then,  we  are  to 
give  a  fair  sample  of  our  saints,  or,  rather, 
if  we  are  so  to  gather  our  bouquet  as  to 
show  honestly  what  is  growing  here  in  the 
garden  of  the  Lord,  we  must  pluck  this  one 
evident  iveed ;  for  among  the  weeds  we  must 
surely  class  this  one,  unless  we  suppose  the 
heavenly  analysis  to  differ  essentially  from 
ours. 

In  our  earlier  missionary  days,  most  of 
the  native  helpers  were  men  of  little  or  no 
education ;  some  of  them  knowing  little  more 
than  to  read  the  Scriptures.     Among  those 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  235 

thus  employed  and  sent  forth,  was  a  native 
of  Gaban  Madeij,  who,  upon  the  decline  of 
that  place,  had  removed  to  the  vicinity  of 
Harpoot,  and  connected  himself  with  the 
church  here.  Being  a  man  of  considerable 
personal  presence  and  fluent  speech,  and, 
withal,  quite  zealous  for  the  new  faith,  he 
was  employed,  and  sent  to  labor  in  Ichmeh, 
a  town  which  had  a  visitation  of  at  least 
two  worthless,  if  not  harmful,  laborers  before 
it  was  blessed  by  the  coming  of  "Little 
Gregory,"  its  present  pastor.  Garabed  the 
silversmith  went;  but  the  work  did  not 
open ;  and,  on  visiting  the  place,  we  had  not 
far  to  look  for  the  cause. 

The  zealous  brother  was  a  lazy,  inefficient 
laborer;  and  when  he  did,  now  and  then, 
wake  up,  it  was  only  to  discuss  questions  of 
form  and  ceremony  with  the  Armenians.  In 
vain  we  urged  him  to  let  alone  the  fasts, 
"  which  even  heathen  Turks  eat,"  and  point 
the  people  to  Jesus. 


236  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

The  poor  man  did  not  seem  to  know  the 
way.  Ahis !  he  had  himself  been  con- 
verted (?)  under  the  labors  of  one  whose 
first  sermon  to  the  people  of  Maden  had 
been  acted  in  a  coffee-shop  by  cooking  and 
eating  an  egg  on  a  fast  day.  So  we  called 
him  back  to  work  at  his  trade  as  a  silver- 
smith, at  which  he  was  so  much  offended, 
as,  to  his  dying-day,  to  look  upon  us  with 
no  kindly  eye.  It  soon  appeared  that  the 
gospel  had  not  made  him  a  more  honest  man 
than  before,  when  he  had  weighted  the  silver 
with  excessive  alloy.  When  expostulated 
with,  he  made  the  usual  apology  of  such 
sinners,  —  that  he  must  live  in  some  way, 
and  could  not  do  it  honestly  at  that  trade ; 
for,  were  he  to  be  honest,  people  would  not 
believe  it.  But  at  length  he  had  a  call  to 
what  promised  to  be  a  more  gainful  pursuit. 

The  people   of  the  neighboring  town  of 
Yegheki,  so  roused  by  rumors  of  the  new 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  237 

gospel  as  to  wish  to  hear  it,  and  yet  unwill- 
ing to  break  away  from  their  own  church, 
and  bear  the  reproach  of  being  Protestants, 
invited  the  silversmith  to  become  their 
preacher  on  condition  of  his  putting  in  the 
usual  alloy  of  crosses,  fasts,  and  other  super- 
stitions. He  accepted  their  call,  and  labored 
among  them  a  year,  when  he  returned  to  his 
old  trade  and  old  ways.  But  ere  long  he 
was  laid  upon  a  sick-bed,  from  which  he  was 
not  to  rise.  For  a  time,  he  seemed  uncon- 
scious of  his  sickness  alike  of  body  and  soul, 
but  at  length  awoke  to  feel  them  both. 

Summoning  a  Protestant  Christian  physi- 
cian, he  piteously  begged  him  to  heal  him. 
The  physician  plainly  told  him  the  truth, 
sa3-ing,  "  If  you  have  any  preparation  to 
make  for  death,  now  is  the  time  to  make  it." 

At  length,  mortification  began  in  one  of 
his  hands ;  and  as  it  slowly  crept  up  along 
his  arm,  and  neared  his   vitals,  he   pointed 


238  GKACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

visitors  to  his  decaying,  loathsome  body, 
saying,  "  God  is  making  me  a  spectacle  for 
all  to  behold  and  fear,  that  others  may  not 
do  as  I  have  done."  His  groans  were  dole- 
ful to  hear.  In  vain  did  one  and  another 
Christian  visitor  point  him  to  Christ  as  still 
willing  to  hear  and  save  him,  if  he  would 
but  look  to  him.  "  Christ,"  he  replied,  "  has 
turned  his  face  away  from  me.  My  time  of 
repentance  is  past.  It  is  too  late,  too  late  !  " 
And  in  this  state  he  closed  his  eyes  in  death, 
and  passed  to  the  tribunal  of  Him  against 
whom  he  had  so  grievously  sinned. 

"  If  we  sin  willfully  after  that  we  have 
received  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a 
certain  fearful  looking-for  of  judgment  and 
fiery  indignation  which  shall  devour  the 
adversaries.  He  that  despised  Moses'  law 
died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses:   of    how    much    sorer    punishment, 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  239 

suppose  3^e,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who 
hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God, 
and  hath  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant, 
wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy 
thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit 
of  grace?"  Of  such  a  one  Watts  well 
says,  — 

"  "What  scenes  of  horror  and  of  dread 
Await  the  sinner's  dying  bed ! 
Death's  terrors  all  appear  in  sight, 
Presages  of  eternal  night. 

His  sins  in  dreadful  order  rise, 
And  fill  his  soul  with  sad  surprise; 
Mount  Sinai's  thunders  stun  his  ears, 
And  not  one  ray  of  hope  appears. 

Tormenting  pangs  distract  his  breast; 
Where'er  he  turns  he  finds  no  rest. 
Death  strikes  the  blow — he  groans  and  cries, 
And  in  despair  and  horror  —  dies." 


240  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XXII. 

THE  KOORDISH  MISSIONARY. 

A  MONG  the  Koordish-speaking  students 
gathered  by  the  churches  of  Harpoot, 
to  be  trained  in  the  theological  seminary 
here  for  prosecuting  their  prospective  mis- 
sionar}^  work  in  Koordistan,  was  a  young 
man,  Kavme  Ablahadian,  a  native  of  Cuttur- 
bul  on  the  Tigris. 

Like  most  residents  in  that  Babel  town,  he 
had  the  gift  of  tongues,  readily  speaking 
Turkish,  Arabic,  and  Koordish,  to  which  he 
soon  added  Armenian,  and,  subsequently,  some 
knowledge  of  English.  Though  a  zealous, 
warm-hearted  adherent  of  evangelical  truth, 
and  burning  with  desire  to  prosecute  the 
missionary  work  in  the  regions  beyond  his 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  241 

native  borderland  of  Koordistan,  he  soon 
became  convinced  that  he  was  not  experi- 
mentally a  Christian,  and,  with  deep  anxiety, 
asked,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Under  the  faithful  instructions  of  the  Har- 
poot  pastor,  himself  a  native  of  Hain^  in 
Koordistan,  and  so  acquainted  with  the  Koord- 
ish,  he  soon  came  out  into  the  clear  light 
of  gospel  liberty.  His  was  a  deep,  old-style 
experience  of  something  more  than  mere 
sentiment.  His  intellect  enlightened  by  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible,  his  sensibilities 
deeply  moved  by  gospel  manifestations  of 
divine  love,  and  his  will  completely  subjected 
to  divine  direction,  and  fixed  in  purpose  of 
service,  he  consecrated  his  whole  being  to 
the  service  of  Christ.  No  one  will  imagine 
from  this  that  he  became  at  once,  or  has  yet 
become,  a  perfect  character,  any  more  than 
do  others  here,  and  elsewhere,  by  a  similar 
experience. 

16 


242  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

"Were  it  necessary  to  do  so,  I  could  point 
out  marked  deficiences,  showing  especially 
liow  feeble  even  a  partially  sanctified  and 
confirmed  Oriental  will  is,  to  stand  firm  in 
defense  of  a  purpose  which  is  assaulted  by 
excited  sensibilities  ;  but  our  present  purpose 
leads  not  that  way. 

During  his  course  of  study,  he  spent  one 
winter  vacation  in  Shemshem,  a  polyglot 
town  in  Koordistan,  and  succeeded  in  winr 
ning  his  way  to  some  hearts  wliich  were 
hard  to  enter;  and  one  in  Sinamood,  a  ward 
of  Harpoot,  being  prevented  by  liis  wife's 
illness  from  going  to  the  more  distant  place. 
At  his  graduation,  the  people  of  Sinamood 
pressed  their  claim  so  forcibly,  that,  seeing 
the  Koordish  mission  treasury  poorly  sup- 
plied with  funds,  he  consented  to  remain 
with  them  a  year,  they  assuming  his  entire 
support.  But,  being  permitted  to  make  a 
visit  to  his  beloved  Koordistan  on  condition 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  243 

that  lie  should  not  remain  there,  he  kept  his 
pledge  in  the  letter,  but  broke  it  in  spirit, 
by  making  a  like  promise  to  the  little  Prot- 
estant community  in  Redwan,  one  of  the 
Koordish  missionary  stations  of  the  Ar- 
menian churches. 

Among  the  mingled  population  of  Ar- 
menians, Jacobites,  Koords,  Turks,  and 
Yezidees  in  that  dark  center  of  Koordistan 
proper,  the  gospel  had  gained  an  entrance ; 
and  a  congregation  of  eighteen  men,  thirteen 
women,  and  twenty-two  children,  had  sepa- 
rated themselves  from  the  superstitions  of 
their  people,  erected  a  little  church,  and, 
deprived  of  their  former  preacher  (Avho  had 
gone  to  another  station),  begged  Kavme,  to 
stay,  saying,  "  We  will  pay  half  of  your 
salary  now,  and  all  by  and  by,  and  will  build 
you  a  house.  Do  come  !  Do  not  leave  us 
alone."  The  result  was,  that  he  hastened 
back,   said  "  Good-by "   to   his   city   parish, 


244  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

and  hurried  off  for  Redwan,  —  as  great  a 
descent  externally  as  for  a  New  York  pastor 
to  leave  his  fine  mansion,  and  go  to  dwell  in 
one  of  the  "sod  houses"  of  Dakota,  with 
the  added  fact,  that  the  contrast  between  the 
people  of  Harpoot  and  those  of  Redwan  is 
little,  if  any,  less  than  that  between  their 
dwellings. 

But  not  thus  was  he  to  remain  at  rest. 
A  "  call "  followed  him  from  the  city  of 
Diarbekir,  which  he  at  once  laid  before  liis 
people,  who  had  meantime,  self-moved,  in- 
creased their  half  of  his  salary  to  four- 
sevenths.  Their  reply  was,  "  The  Diarbekir 
people  need  you  very  much;  and  we  will 
lend  you  to  them  for  a  few  months."  He 
came ;  but  some  of  the  Diarbekir  people,  on 
seeing  him,  almost  repented  the  call.  He 
was  very  unassuming,  at  times  seeming 
almost  to  beg  pardon  of  men  for  the  offense 
of  being  among  them. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  245 

But  a  few  weeks'  experience  changed  all 
that  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  people  ;  and, 
at  the  expiration  of  the  allotted  time, 
only  a  sense  of  honor  and  necessity  made 
the  city  parish  willing  to  return  the  loan. 
Said  a  hitherto  somewhat  phlegmatic 
brother,  "  I  have  listened  for  years  to  the 
learned,   eloquent    sermons    of    our    pastor, 

Mr. ,   and  they   only  pleased,   without 

benefiting  me ;  but  this  man  talks  to  me 
about  myself,  and  the  salvation  wliich  I 
need.  He  is  doing  my  soul  good.''^  And  so 
he  was.  All !  after  all,  the  primary  prepara- 
tion for  a  useful  gospel  ministry  is  a  deep 
heart-experience  of  the  power  of  the  doc- 
trines of  grace.  This  can  vivify  and  clarify 
the  sleepiest  and  muddiest  brain,  and  ener- 
gize the  feeblest,  almost  supplying  that 
which  is  wanting,  and  setting  it  at  work  for 
Christ ;  while  without  it  the  most  resplendent 
talents  can  only  please  the  ear,  and  inform 


246  GEACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

the  mind,  leaving  the  heart  unbenefited  and 
unreached. 

But  we  found  Kavme,  ill  at  ease  in  his 
city  parish.  He  longed  to  return  once  more 
to  his  humble  Koordish  congregation.  And 
the  way  was  providentially  opened  for  him 
soon  to  do  so.  He  goes  fully  purposed  to  be 
an  earnest,  self-denying,  Christian  missionary 
there. 

May  God  give  him  health  and  long  life, 
and  the  needed  wisdom  and  grace  for  carry- 
ing out  his  purpose !  Will  not  all  the 
readers  of  this  brief  sketch  unite  with  us 
in  this  petition. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED,  247 


D 


XXIII. 

THE  LITTLE  SYRIAN  MAID. 

BY  MISS  M.   E.   WABFIELD. 

(From  tlie  Cliristian  Mirror.) 

EAR  S.  S.  Childeex,  —  Would  jou  like 


to  enter  an  upper  room,  where  I  went,  a 
short  time  since,  to  the  death-bed  of  one  of 
our  loved  pupils  ?  She  was  lying,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  people,  upon  the  floor. 
The  father,  also  upon  the  floor,  was  sitting  at 
her  head.  The  mother,  assistant  teacher,  the 
pastor  and  wife,  and  a  few  other  friends, 
were  gathered  around  to  watch  the  loved 
daughter,  whose  life  was  fast  passing  away. 

Her  eyes  were  covered,  and  she  lay  per- 
fectly quiet;  while  the  difficult  breathing 
showed  that  she  could  not  louo;  remain.     It 


248  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

was  painful  to  witness  the  distortion  of  lier 
bright  face  at  every  breath.  We  supposed 
she  was  entirely  unconscious  to  all  earthly 
things:  but,  after  waiting  a  few  moments, 
we  uncovered  her  eyes ;  and  I  said,  "  Sadie, 
do  you  know  me  ?  Are  you  going  to  Jesus  ?  " 
The  clear  child  turned  her  eyes  toward  me, 
but  was  unable  to  utter  a  sound. 

No  sign  could  she  then  give  to  show 
whether  or  not  she  was  happy ;  and  soon  her 
spirit  took  its  flight,  as  we  trust,  to  be  with 
the  Lord ;  for,  although  we  could  then  have 
no  word  from  her  lips,  we  mourn  not  for  her. 
We  believe  she  had  given  herself  to  Jesus, 
and  is  now  happy  with  him. 

Shall  I  tell  you  something  of  this  dear 
girl  ?  She  came  to  us  last  year  from  Cuttur- 
.  bul,  near  Diarbekir.  She  was  about  fourteen 
years  of  age,  quite  small  and  uncomely  in 
form,  but  with  a  bright  face,  and  lustrous 
black   eyes.     But  we   soon  found  that  her 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  249 

bright  face  was  not  always  sunny ;  for  she 
had  a  very  bad  temper,  and  would  often  be- 
come angry  at  some  word  from  her  associates ; 
and  then  her  sunny  face  would  be  darkly 
clouded. 

Kohar,  our  assistant  teacher,  often  told  us 
that  Sadie  was  sometimes  very  troublesome, 
and  even  hateful  to  her  associates.  Much 
prayer  was  offered  for  this  bright,  wayward 
girl ;  and,  after  a  time,  she  was  awakened  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  led  to  see  her  sinful- 
ness, and  one  sabbath  day  came  to  our  room 
to  talk  about  her  soul.  She  felt  that  she 
was  a  great  sinner,  and  earnestly  inquired 
what  she  should  do  to  be  saved. 

After  we  had  explained  to  her  the  way  of 
salvation,  she  felt  that  she  could  give  her- 
self to  Christ,  beUeving  that  he  would  for- 
give her  sins,  and  give  her  a  new  heart.  A 
few  days  after  this,  she  told  us,  with  a  beam- 
ing face,   that    she   had    given    herself    to 


250  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

Christ,  that  she  gave  her  heart  to  him  that 
sabbath  day,  and  had  since  been  very  happy. 
Several  times  after  this,  she  spoke  of  her  joy 
and  peace  in  Christ,  and  one  day  lingered 
at  the  close  of  a  recitation,  and  requested 
me  to  give  her  some  spiritual  advice.  I 
talked  to  her  a  few  moments,  when  she 
looked  up  with  a  grateful  smile,  thanked  me, 
and  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  talk  to  me  every 
day." 

Miss  Seymour  spoke  to  her  especially 
about  looking  to  Jesus  for  strength  to  con- 
quer her  violent  temper,  and  refrain  from 
all  angry  words ;  and  we  believe  she  did 
indeed  seek  and  find  help  from  him ;  for, 
when  she  returned  this  year,  she  was  much 
improved,  and  we  feel  that  it  was  grace 
alone  which  had  wrought  such  a  change,  that 
Kohar  said  of  her,  "  She  is  very  sweet  this 
year." 

Some  weeks  after  her  return,  she  came  to 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  251 

our  room  with  a  bright  smile,  to  tell  us  of 
her  love  to  Jesus,  and  ask  us  to  pray  that 
she  might  always  live  near  to  him,  and  be  a 
blessing  to  others. 

Soon  after  this,  she  was  taken  violently 
sick,  and  suffered  much  for  nearly  six  weeks. 
We  visited  her  several  times,  and  always 
found  her  groaning  with  pain,  but  apparently 
trusting  in  Jesus.  She  requested  us  to  pray 
for  her,  and  wished  to  be  remembered  in  the 
prayers  of  her  schoolmates  also. 

Once  I  found  her  suffering  greatly,  and 
saying,  "  He  will  take  me,  he  will  take 
me."  And  when  I  said,  "  Sadie,  do  you 
wish  to  go  ?  "  her  face  instantly  brightened, 
and  she  said,  "  Oh,  yes !  "  —  "  But,"  said  I, 
"you  are  a  sinner.  How  can  you  go  to 
heaven  ?  " 

She  replied,  "  Yes :  I  am  a  great  sinner, 
but  Jesus  will  save  me.  It  is  only  by  Jesus, 
onlyhy  Jesus T 


252  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

At  times  she  talked  much  of  the  precious- 
ness  of  Christ,  the  joy  of  heaven,  and  her 
confidence  in  her  Saviour  ;  and  I  have  never 
heard  of  any  doubts  of  her  acceptance,  or 
fears  of  death,  during  the  whole  of  her  long 
sickness.  At  one  time  she  said,  "  Since 
Christ  has  died  for  me,  why  should  I  not 
trust  him  ?  why  should  I  fear  death?  " 

One  night  she  called  her  parents,  and 
begged  their  forgiveness  for  all  her  unkind- 
ness  and  disobedience  ;  and  at  another  time, 
when  asked  if  she  was  not  sad  in  view  of 
death,  she  said,  "  I  am  not  sad  when  think- 
ing of  myself ;  but  I  grieve  for  my  parents. 
I  hnow  it  will  be  hard  for  them  to  bury  me 
here,  and  go  home  alone." 

Once  she  exclaimed,  "  I  see  the  angels ! 
they  are  coming  for  me."  The  day  of  her 
death,  she  was  too  weak  to  talk  much  ;  but, 
when  asked  if  she  would  hke  to  have 
prayers,    she      immediately     said,     "  Yes." 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  253 

Again,  while  suffering  from  intense  pain,  one 
asked,  "  Are  you  glad  that  the  Lord  has 
sent  this  upon  you?"  She  said,  "Oh,  yes! 
glory,  glory  to  thee,  O  Lord !  " 

These  were  her  last  words. 

The  next  day  we  attended  her  funeral, 
and  sang  the  sweet  hymns,  which  Sadie  had 
selected  some  days  before,  —  "I  want  to  be 
an  angel,"  "  Forever  with  the  Lord,"  "  I'm  a 
pilgrim,"  "  Come  sing  to  me  of  heaven," 
and  "  Joyfully,  joyfully."  I  doubt  not  you 
are  all  familiar  with  these  same  hymns,  and 
perhaps  often  sing  them,  but  not  as  we  do 
here.  Here  they  are  sung  in  the  Armenian 
language,  and  we  have  learned  to  enjoy  them 
in  this  foreign  tongue. 

We  felt  that  it  was  truly  appropriate  to 
sing,  "  Joyfully,  joyfully,"  and  that  we  ought 
not  to  iveep  for  her,  but  should  rather  rejoice 
that  Jesus  had  taken  her  from  all  the  trials 
of  earth,  and  especially  that   he   had   per- 


254  GRACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

mitted  her  to  give  such  good  evidence  of  a 
change  of  heart,  and  fitness  for  the  bright 
mansions. 

And  now,  my  dear  young  friends,  may 
you  all,  like  our  dear  Sadie,  give  your 
hearts  to  Jesus,  ask  him  to  make  you  his 
dear  children,  and  give  you  strength  to 
overcome  all  your  faults,  and  grace  to  live 
for  his  glory.  Give  yourselves  to  Christ,  ask 
him  to  guide  you,  and  believe  that  he  will  do 
it.  Do  not  be  discouraged  if  you  do  not 
become  like  Jesus  at  once.  Sadie  did  not 
immediately  conquer,  but  was  obliged  to 
watch  and  pray  as  long  as  she  lived,  in  order 
to  keep  down  angry  words  and  thoughts ; 
but  Jesus  helped  her,  and  has  now  taken 
her  to  himself,  and  given  her  the  crown  prom- 
ised to  those  who  overcome. 

And  so,  dear  young  friends,  he  will 
surely  help  you,  if  you  daily  ask  him  to  ; 
and,  if  you  cheerfully  bear  the  cross  here.,  he 
will  give  you  the  crown  of  life  in  heaven. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  255 


XXIV. 

MISS   M.  E.  WARFIELD. 

r\N  the  16th  of  February,  1870,  but  a  few 
weeks  after  penning  the  preceding  let- 
ter, Miss  Warfield  followed  her  dear  pupil, 
going  up  to  wear  "  the  crown  of  life  in 
heaven." 

Hers  was  a  brief,  earnest,  effective  mis- 
sionary life  of  a  little  less  than  three  years, 
spent  in  the  Harpoot  Female  Seminary. 

When  the  call  came  to  engage  in  this 
work,  though  shrinking  from  its  responsibili- 
ties, yet  thinking  the  Master  called,  she 
cheerfully  responded,  "  Here  am  I,"  and 
leaving  the  school  which  she  was  teaching  in 
Arlington,  Mass.,  prepared  to  bid  farewell 
to  her  widowed  mother  and  only  sister,  and 


256  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

go  SO  soon  as  an  associate  sliould  be  secured. 
The  proper  person  not  being  found  so 
speedily  as  she  had  hoped,  she  fixed  a  time, 
delay  beyond  which  in  finding  an  associate 
should  be  to  her  evidence  that  she  was  mis- 
taken in  supposing  her  own  call  to  be  from 
the  Master. 

Telling  her  purpose  to  Him  whom  she 
loved  to  call  the  dear  Saviour,  she  calmly 
waited  that  final  tentJi  day,  the  evening  of 
•  which  providentially  ratified  her  call  by  the 
news  that  Miss  Hattie  Seymour  of  Rochester, 
N.Y.,  would  soon  be  ready  to  join  her  in  her 
chosen  work.  Henceforth,  whatever  the 
thorns  which  beset  her  path,  or  the  darkness 
which  enshrouded  it,  in  a  work  the  peculiar 
difficulties  and  trials  of  which  none  in  the 
home  land,  and  few,  if  any,  in  the  foreign 
field,  besides  the  young  ladies  themselves, 
can  fully  appreciate,  she  never  again  gave 
place  to  a  doubt  that  she  had  been  divinely 


MISS    WARFIELD. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  257 

called,  nor  lost,  for  a  moment,  her  cheerful 
zeal  in  doing  her  Master's  bidding.  She 
felt  sure  that  he  was  with  her,  and  would 
be  to  the  end,  though  little  suspecting  how 
soon  that  end  of  earthly  service  was  to  come. 
Her  quick  mind  and  enthusiastic  earnest- 
ness secured  for  her  a  speedy  and  ready 
command  of  the  language ;  and  almost  from 
the  first  day  in  the  field  she  was  a  practical, 
efficient  missionary.  Her  labor  for  her 
pupils  was  a  cheerful  service  of  love  to  them 
and  her  Saviour,  —  one  in  which  no  3delding 
to  weariness  or  discouragement  was  allowed. 
The  result  was  the  condensation  of  an 
unusual  amount  of  effective  work  into  those 
brief  months.  Not  content  with  their  sum- 
mer labors  in  the  seminary,  she  and  her 
associate  devoted  most  of  the  winters  to 
visiting  their  pupils  in  their  places  of  labor, 
going  for  this  purpose  on  horseback,  through 
rain  and  snow,  from  outstation  to  outstatiou, 
17 


258  GRACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

some  of  them  several  days'  journey  distant. 
The  return  from  these  missionary  tours 
usually  brought  a  generous  supply  of  cheer 
for  the  home-circle ;  for  hers  was  a  hopeful, 
buoyant  spirit,  not  prone  to  look  on  the 
cheerless  side  of  missionary  life,  but  eagerly 
gathering  up  all  which  could  energize  her- 
self or  others  for  the  work  in  hand.  In 
these  journeys,  for  the  sake  of  economy  in 
using  sacred  funds,  she  cheerfully  bore  some 
privations,  which  some  of  us  older  —  shall  I 
say  wiser  ?  —  tourists  have  felt  constrained 
to  remand  to  the  experiences  of  more  youth- 
ful days.  Returning  from  the  last  of  these 
tours,  made  to  several  villages  on  Harpoot 
plain,  she  was  taken  with  measles,  which 
was  prevailing  in  some  of  the  places  visited. 
Having  a  skillful  physician  at  hand,  we  had 
no  fear  for  the  result,  especially  as  the  dis- 
ease was  in  a  mild  form ;  but  when,  on  the 
sixth  day,  typhoid-fever  set  in  in  a  violent 
form,  we  felt  that  there  was  little  hope. 


GRACE  ILLTJSTEATED.  259 

.  Happily  she  herself  had  felt,  days  before, 
that  her  end  was  near,  and,  while  yet  in  full 
possession  of  her  reason,  had  left  her  dying- 
messages  to  her  mother  and  other  home- 
friends. 

During  the  dehrium  of  typhoid,  she  im- 
agined herself  called  upon  to  suffer  the 
martyr's  death  at  the  stake.  Yet  not  even, 
then  did  faith  or  courage  fail ;  and  it  was 
touching  to  hear  her  exclaim,  "  Dear  Saviour, 
thou  knowest  that  I  am  weak,  but  do  give 
me  strength.  I  am  willing  to  bear  even  this 
for  thee."  Recognizing  her  associate  stand- 
ing by  her  bedside,  she  exclaimed  with  all 
the  earnestness  of  reality,  "  Go  back,  Hattie, 
go  back  !  It  is  enough  for  one  of  us  to  die. 
You  must  stay,  and  bear  witness  for  Christ." 

The  ruling  thought  was  strong  in  death ; 
and  her  whole  anxiety  was  for  the  work 
and  the  people  whom  she  came  to  bless,  to 
imaginary  companies  of  whom  she  was,  from 


260  '     GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

time  to  time,  making  earnest  appeals  on  tlie 
one  great  subject. 

And  thus  she  went  home  to  hear,  no 
doubt,  the  welcome  plaudit,  "  Well  done  ! " 
and  receive  from  her  dear  Saviour's  hand 
the  crown  of  that  martyrdom  she  had  con- 
sciously endured  for  him. 

Her  grave  made  the  sixteenth  in  our  little 
hillside  cemetery ;  the  first  adult  to  lie 
there  having  been  Mrs.  Williams  (Miss  Bar- 
bour), who,  though  nine  years  before  too 
modestly  declining  the  post  of  first  teacher  in 
the  seminary,  had  been  providentially  led 
hither  to-  find  a  resting-place.  And  that 
burial-ground  is  not  a  sad  place,  —  is  really 
a  "  God's  acre."  Of  all  who  lie  there,  we 
have  the  joyous  assurance  that  they  have 
entered  into  the  rest  which  remains  for  the 
people  of  God. 

What  if  their  dust  must,  for  a  brief  time, 
sleep   far  from   that   of    their  kindred   and 


GRACE  ILLCrSTRATED.  261 

jfriends,  among  a  people  of  a  strange  speech  ! 
This  seeming  isolation  and  loneliness  will 
but  make  the  angels  watch  all  the  more 
tenderly  over  it,  till  that  day  when  Re  shall 
come  to  re-animate,  and  gather  home,  his 
chosen  ones. 

"  Asleep  in  Jesus,  blessed  sleep! 

From  which  none  ever  wake  to  weep,  —' 
A  calm  and  undisturbed  repose, 
Unbroken  by  the  last  of  foes. 

Asleep  in  Jesus  —  oh,  for  me 

May  such  a  blissful  refuge  be ! 
Securely  shall  my  ashes  lie, 

And  wait  the  summons  from  on  high." 


262  GRACE   ILLUSTKATED. 


XXV. 

THE  MAN  WHO   MUST  PREACH. 

QOME  time  in  the  early  days  of  our 
missionary  life,  a  guest  brought  with 
him  to  our  home,  a  young  man,  some  twenty 
years  of  age,  a  native  of  flie  city  of  Egin, 
in  the  north-west  part  of  our  field.  His 
large  head,  and  somewhat  larger  self-assur- 
ance, with  a  good  measure  of  aggressive 
force,  and  earnestly-avowed  Protestantism, 
attracted  our  attention. 

It  was  quite  evident  that  he  aspired  to 
be  a  servant  in  the  ministerial  sense  ;  for, 
complacently  requesting  the  use  of  a  small 
prophet's  chamber,  he,  after  a  few  days  of 
seclusion,  issued  fi-om  it,  manuscript  in  hand, 
with  an  invitation  for  himself  to  preach  it 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  263 

from  our  pulpit  on  the  following  sabbath. 
This  was  our  first  acquaintance  with  Simon 
Deradoorian. 

Soon  after,  he  presented  himself  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  theological  seminary,  to 
which  he  was  received,  and  graduated  with 
honor  four  years  later,  being  remarkable 
chiefly  for  an  excessive  scrupulousness,  and 
a  strong  tendency  to  asceticism ;  this  last 
manifesting  itself  in  the  eating  of  some 
kinds  of  food  which,  though  fitted,  perhaps, 
to  "bring  under  the  body,"  are  not  fitted  to 
develop  a  refined  taste. 

His  earnestness  and  self-assurance  did  not 
fail;  but  the  latter  was  somewhat  discour- 
aged by  occasional  exposure  to  ridicule,  in 
his  attempts  to  indulge  it  at  the  expense 
of  those  about  him ;  as  when  a  letter  of  pri- 
vate rebuke  and  exhortation  to  one  of  his 
teachers  for  a  supposed  fault  was  quietly 
passed  along  to  be  read  and  laughed  at  by 
the  assembled  students. 


264  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

Alas  tliat  in  the  forceful  application  of 
tlie  truthless  as  trite  maxim,  "  Great  men  are 
always  modest,"  the  great,  arrogant  world 
so  often  blasts  the  blossoms  of  growing 
greatness !  But  the  blossoming  genius  of 
our  theologue  was  proof  against  even  the 
withermg  influence  of  the  "  dread  laugh  "  of 
the  little  world  in  which  he  moved,  and 
upon  which  he  looked  down  with  the  calm 
serenity  of  conscious  superiority. 

And  the  little  world  meanwhile  repaid 
him  with  a  certain  sincere  respect  for  his 
talents,  and  the  ascetic  rigor  of  his  ad- 
herence to  what  he  supposed  to  be  right. 

Gifted  with  a  somewhat  commanding 
presence,  a  good  voice,  and  ready  command 
of  language,  and  giving  due  attention  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  two  latter,  he  was  able,  in 
his  senior  year,  to  take  pre-eminence  among 
his  classmates  as  a  preacher. 

On    graduating,   he   went   to   Temran,   a 


GEACE   ILLUSTKATED.  265 

town  among  tlie  mountains,  to  the  north-east 
of  Harpoot,  in  the  then  newly  occupied 
district  of  Geghi.  Though  he  there  had 
no  regular  audience  or  place  of  worship,  and 
so  no  opportunity  to  cultivate  his  preaching- 
talent,  except  occasionally  in  efforts  to 
control  crowds  of  excited  hostile  men,  yet, 
in  this  primary  evangelistic  work,  his  natural 
earnestness,  and  Ms  warm-hearted  piety, 
found  new  nourishment,  and  opportunity  to 
grow,  and  he  profited  by  them.  Those  were 
the  days  of  mobs  in  that  wild  district,  in 
the  midst  of  which  he  developed  a,  to  us, 
new  trait  of  character,  —  that  of  Christian 
mildness  and  forbearance,  such  as  to  win 
some  of  his  bitterest  enemies,  and  among 
them  poor  old  Sarah,  a  sketch  of  whom  is 
next  given.  She  was  one  of  a  mob  that 
threw  his  books  and  other  possessions  into 
the  street,  and  beat  him  ;  but,  seeing  how 
patiently  he  bore  it  all,  she  exclaimed,  "  Poor 


266  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

young  man,  he  don't  deserve  sucli  treat- 
ment," and  from  that  hour  began  to  seek 
and  love  the  truth  for  which  he  suffered. 
His  brief  stay  there  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  prosperous  work,  which  is  on  the  point  of 
resulting  in  the  formation  of  the  second 
church  in  the  district. 

But  here,  as  elsewhere,  qualities  and  talents 
such  as  his  are  sure  to  win  reputation  in 
more  important  centers  ;  and  he  soon  received 
and  accepted  a  call  to  Harpoot. 

His  course  here  was  very  brief;  for  he 
came  only  to  die,  being  seized  with  typhus- 
fever  ere  he  had  preached  a  single  sermon. 
But  this  new  summons  was  received  with 
the  quiet  confidence  of  one  who  knew  in 
whom  he  had  trusted.  When  told  what 
would  be  the  issue  of  his  disease,  and  asked 
whether  he  felt  afraid  of  death,  his  quiet 
reply  was,  "  Why  should  the  Christian  fear 
to   die?"     And   thus,    in   the   vigor  of  his 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  267 

early  manhood,  and  the  beginning  of  his  use- 
fulness here,  he  passed  away,  to  respond,  Ave 
doubt  not,  to  a  call  to  enter  upon  a  higher, 
wider  sphere  of  usefulness  in  some  other 
world. 

"  Lift  not  thou  the  wailing  voice, 
"Weep  not,  'tis  a  Christian  dieth  : 
Up  where  blessed  saints  rejoice, 
Ransomed  now,  the  spirit  flieth. 
High  in  heaven's  own  light  he  dwelleth; 
Full  the  song  of  triumph  swelleth, 
Freed  from  earth  and  earthly  failing  : 
Lift  for  him  no  voice  of  wailing." 


268  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


XXVI. 

OLD    SARAH. 

I  HE  lived  for  seventy  years  in  spiritual 
darkness  in  Temran,  the  town  in  which 
labored  Simon  Deradoorian,  and  then  re- 
ceived her  first  ray  of  light  from  seeing  the 
patience  with  which  he  endured  the  abuse 
of  a  mob,  whom  he  blessed  while  they  were 
beating  him,  and  destroying  his  property. 

She  had  gone  with  the  crowd  to  see  the 
"  infidel  preacher  "  beaten,  —  the  man  who 
did  not  worshijD  the  saints  and  the  Holy 
Virgin,  and  who,  of  course,  must  be  bad  and 
behave  very  badly.  But  when  she  saw  a 
meek,  gentle  Christian,  who  joyfully  suffered 
for  the  Master's  sake,  her  natural  sense  of 
justice  was  outraged  by  the  violence  of  her 


GRACE  ILLITSTRATED.  269 

companions ;  and  she  began  to  love  the 
"good  young  man." 

When  Simon  came  to  Harpoot,  and  died 
here,  old  Sarah  attached  herself  to  his  suc- 
cessor, who,  fortunately,  was  a  man  of  kin- 
dred spirit. 

A  hard  task  had  she  before  her  in  the 
effort  to  be  a  Christian ;  for,  during  all  her 
adult  years,  she  had  been  known,  even  in 
that  wild,  rough  region,  as  a  virago,  —  the 
terror  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  her, 
men  as  well  as  women  ;  for,  in  her  terrible 
outbursts  of  passion,  she  hesitated  not  to 
enforce  hard  words  with  harder  blows,  when 
necessary  for  her  purpose. 

But,  having  made  up  her  mind  to  serve 
Christ,  she  went  to  work  with  characteristic 
earnestness.  Her  little  grand-daughter  was 
at  once  put  into  the  Protestant  school ;  and 
when  the  new  preacher  and  his  wife  came, 
taking    the   little   girl   upon   her  shoulders, 


270  GEACE   ILLUSTEATED. 

she  waded  with  them  through  the  deep 
snows  of  that  mountain-region  to  introduce 
them  to  the  people  at  their  homes.  Happily, 
they  were  both  earnest,  spiritually  minded 
people  ;  and  it  was  old  Sarah's  delight  thus 
to  go  with  them  from  house  to  house,  and 
hear  the  "  old,  old  story "  told  over  and 
over  again.  The  Bible  was  to  her  like  a 
gushing  fountain  of  pure  cold  water  to  one 
perishing  with  thirst.  She  never  wearied 
of  drinking  in  its  sweet  words. 

Once,  hearing  the  preacher  read  Christ's 
discourse  with  Nicodemus,  she  exclaimed, 
"  Saviour,  I  am  unclean  !  wash  me  with  thy 
blood.     There  is  no  other  way  to  be  saved." 

She  seemed  literally  to  hunger  and  tliirst 
for  the  bread  and  the  water  of  life ;  and, 
when  the  preacher  went  to  visit  another 
town,  she  was  impatient  for  his  return, 
saying,  "  Why  does  he  not  come  ? "  and 
requesting   those   about  her   to  talk  to  her 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  271    • 

of  spiritual  things.  "  Ah  !  "  she  exclaimed, 
"would  that  I  had  heard  these  things 
sooner ! " 

To  the  amazement  of  all  about  her,  who 
wondered  at  the  change,  and  admired  the 
power  of  that  gospel  which  was  able  to 
produce  it,  she  became  as  remarkable  for 
sweetness  as  she  had  before  been  for  vio- 
lence of  temper. 

Once  only  did  the  old  nature  get  the 
better  of  the  new,  and  then  in  a  praj^er- 
meeting,  to  hold  which,  some  members  of 
the  Palu  church  had  come  three  days'  jour- 
ney. A  nephew  of  hers  rising  to  leave  in 
prayer-time,  with  the  exclamation,  "  I  don't 
accept  your  groanh''^  (religion),  she  gave 
him  a  vigorous  box  on  the  ear,  exclaiming, 
"  You  call  prayer  a  groanJc^  do  you  ?  " 

But  not  long  had  she  to  fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith,  only  one  winter's  snows 
through  which  to  wade  to  guide  the  preacher 


272  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

in  his  household  visits.  With  the  opening 
spring  she  sickened  ;  and  it  was  soon  appar- 
ent that  she  was  near  her  end.  To  the 
last,  she  clung  to  the  place  of  prayer,  saying, 
go  she  must.  To  some  who  once  tried  to 
dissuade  her  from  going,  she  replied,  "  I 
must  and  will  go  to  hear  God's  voice  once 
more." 

But  three  days  before  her  death,  she 
induced  two  men  to  take  each  an  arm,  and 
lead  her  to  the  loved  place  once  more,  for 
the  last  time. 

The  story  of  her  death  tells  nothing  of 
rapturous  exultation,  nothing  of  transporting 
visions  of  heavenly  glory  ;  but  we  doubt  not 
she  found  an  angel  convoy  in  waiting  to 
convey  her  thither.  When  wearied,  and  at 
times  almost  disheartened,  by  the  worldli- 
ness  and  ingratitude  of  many  for  whom  we 
labor,  the  memory  of  poor  old  Sarah  wading 
through  those  winter  snows,  and  trying  to 


GBACE  ILLUSTRATED.  273 

breathe  her  last  breath  in  the  atmosphere 
of  prayer,  cheers  us  with  new  confidence 
in  the  promise,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  al- 
way." 


274  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 


XXVII. 

b£go,  the  wife  of  doxo. 

BY  EEV.    H.    N.   BAENUM,  D.D. 

N  the  year  1868  twelve  Protestant  women 
ill  Pain,  along  with  their  family  cares, 
seemed  each  a  few  Armenian  women  and 
girls  as  pupils,  hoping  in  this  way  to  bring 
them  into  contact  with  the  Bible.  They 
rightly  judged  that  this  was  one  of  the 
surest  ways  of  doing  good ;  for  they  them- 
selves had  recently  learned  to  read,  and,  in 
learning,  their  minds  had  become  awakened, 
and  their  hearts  drawn  to  the  truth. 

Among  these  pupils  was  a  bright  married 
woman,  less  than  thirty  years  of  age,  whose 
name  was  Bego.  She  was  much  interested 
in  reading,  and  made  rapid  progress.     After 


GEACE  ILLUSTKATED.  275 

a  little,  she  removed,  with  her  husband,  to 
Temran,  a  village  in  the  Geghi  district, 
among  the  Anti-Taurus  Mountains.  This 
district  is  three  days'  journey  from  Palu, 
and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  wild  Koords. 
Soon  after  reaching  Temran,  following  the 
example  of  the  Palu  sisters,  Bego  opened 
her  own  house  for  the  gratuitous  instruction 
of  such  women  and  girls  as  were  willing  to 
come.  There  were  very  few  such  at  that 
time,  it  is  true ;  for  this  was  a  new  thing  in 
that  region,  and  most  persons  regarded  read- 
ing by  females  as  very  unwomanly.  But 
it  was  the  beginning  of  female  education 
in  a  place  which  has  already  sent  three 
girls  to  the  female  seminary  in  Harpoot. 
We  heard  of  this  school,  and  rejoiced  in 
it  as  the  sliining  of  the  light  in  a  very 
dark  j)lace.  None  of  us,  however,  saw  the 
teacher ;  for  she  and  her  husband  were 
faithful  adherents  of  the  old  Armenian 
Church,  and  kept  aloof  from  us. 


276  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

Bdgo's  love  of  reading  led  her  to  study 
the  Bible  ;  and,  as  she  studied  it,  the  truth 
gradually  dawned  upon  her  mind,  and  she 
and  her  husband  became  convinced  of  the 
errors  of  the  Armenian  Church,  and  joined 
the  feeble  band  of  Protestants  in  Temran.  I 
well  remember  the  time  when  I  first  saw 
her.  It  was  on  a  visit  to  Temran,  in  1870. 
I  was  a  guest  of  the  preacher,  when  she 
timidly  came  in,  and  was  introduced  to  me 
as  the  woman  who  was  helping  a  few  of  her 
sex  to  read.  She  was  not  then  openly  com- 
mitted to  the  truth ;  but,  after  a  few  months, 
she  came  out  clearly  and  decidedly  on  the 
Lord's  side. 

Two  years  later  (in  1872),  in  the  midst 
of  endeavors  to  do  good,  she  was  prostrated 
by  a  most  painful  attack  of  rheumatism, 
from  which  there  is  no  hope  of  her  recovery. 
On  a  recent  visit  to  Temran,  I  called  upon 
her.     I  was  not  surprised  that  she  had  rheu- 


GRACE  ILLUSTKATED.  277 

matism.  The  wonder  is,  considering  the 
damp,  cold  houses  the  people  live  in,  that 
so  many  of  them  escape  this  disease.  The 
house  which  Bego  occupies  is  the  ordinary 
one-story  building,  six  or  seven  feet  high, 
with  mud  walls,  flat,  earthen  roof,  and  the 
bare  ground  for  the  floor.  On  one  side,  the 
whole  length  of  the  room,  both  the  wall  and 
the  roof  are  so  dilapidated,  that  they  do  not 
join  each  other,  but  leave  an  open  space 
from  three  to  eight  inches  wide.  The  room 
is  bare  of  furniture,  —  a  cheerless,  comfort- 
less place.  Somebody  has  been  sufficiently 
thoughtful,  after  she  has  lain  for  two  years 
with  her  poor,  hard  mattress  on  the  ground, 
to  make  a  rude,  wooden  frame,  and  place 
her  bed  on  that.  At  the  foot  of  the  bed, 
on  the  wall,  hangs  the  recently  issued  roll 
of  daily  Scripture  promises  in  Armenian, 
sent  to  her  by  one  of  the  missionary  ladies ; 
and   during  the  long,  weary  hours  of  the 


278  GEAOE  ILLUSTEATED. 

day,  she  comforts  herself  with  these  precious 
words.  Her  husband  and  little  boy  are  kept 
at  home  from  their  shoemaking  with  sore 
eyes.  As  we  enter,  she  appears  a  little 
embarrassed ;  for,  with  a  woman's  sensitive- 
ness, she  shrinks  from  the  exhibition  of  pov- 
erty which  her  house  too  clearly  manifests. 
"VVe  have  seen  man}^  such  dwellings  before, 
and  at  once  put  her  at  her  ease.  A  mattress 
is  spread  for  us  on  the  ground,  with  a  soiled, 
tattered  cover,  —  a  very  uninviting  seat ; 
but  it  is  probably  the  best  bed  in  the  house. 
Before  we  left,  we  felt  that  we  were  sitting 
in  heavenly  places. 

Here  lies  a  woman  in  the  prime  of  life. 
She  is  by  nature  unusually  ambitious  and 
enterprising.  For  two  years,  she  has  been 
the  victim  of  a  most  distressing  disease. 
At  times  her  pain  is  so  severe,  that  the 
approach  of  a  person  to  her  bedside  brings 
from  her  an  involuntary  shriek,  through  the 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  279 

fear  of  being  touched.  Her  muscles  have 
become  contracted  and  rigid.  She  can  not 
move  hand  or  foot.  Her  hands  are  so  drawn 
in,  and  bent,  that  the  fingers  nearly  touch 
the  arm.  She  has  not  even  the  power  to 
drive  away  the  flies  that  swarm  upon  her 
face.  She  lies  thus  perfectly  helpless,  racked 
with  pain,  and  able  to  sleep  but  little,  even 
at  night.  Oh,  how  heavily  the  weary,  weary 
hours  and  days  and  weeks  and  months  must 
move  along !  Is  patience  possible  in  the 
midst  of  such  suffering  ?  How  many  could 
endure  to  lie  helpless,  and  often  for  hours 
alone,  like  this  poor  woman,  even  if  there 
were  no  suffering  connected  with  it  ?  Sim- 
ply the  flies  and  the  fleas  would  make  many 
people  well-nigh  frantic.  But  in  the  coun- 
tenance before  us  is  an  expression  which 
implies  something  more  than  mere  patience. 
You  do  not  need  to  ask  whether  she  is 
happy.     Joy  beams  through  all  her  features, 


280  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

—  a  heavenly  peace,  triumphant  over  suffer- 
ing, such  as  is  seldom  seen  in  a  huinan  face. 
Yet  happiness  is  so  incompatible  with  such 
a  wretched  condition,  without  any  allevia- 
tion, and  with  no  hope  of  release,  except  by 
death,  which  may  be  many  years  in  coming, 
that  one  can  scarcely  avoid  asking  the  ques- 
tion which  I  did,  "  Can  you  be  happy  in 
this  state  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  !  "  she  replied,  "  I  am  very  happy. 
My  soul  is  full  of  peace  and  joy.  Jesus  is 
present  with  me,  and,  although  I  suffer 
much  pain,  I  want  nothing  more.  Except 
for  Christ's  presence  and  blessing,  I  never 
could  endure  this.  I  am  content  to  wait 
upon  him,  and  let  him  do  as  he  pleases. 
His  will  is  the  best." 

This  testimony  was  to  me  more  assuring 
than  all  the  philosophical  demonstrations 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  Temran 
preacher  says  that  he  often  goes  to  the  bed- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  281 

side  of  this  poor  but  blessed  woman  to  have 
his  own  spiritual  nature  refreshed,  and  his 
faith  strengthened.  ~B6go  was  to  have  been 
a  Bible-reader  in  Temran ;  but  I  left  her, 
feeling  that  she  is  doubtless  doing  vastly 
more  for  her  Master  by  illustrating  the 
power  of  the  gospel  to  sustain  one  in  trial, 
than  she  possibly  could  have  done  by  the 
most  active  service,  and  possibly  more  than 
many  a  preacher  or  missionary.  Seldom 
has  a  sermon  impressed  me  so  deeply,  and  I 
trust  profitably,  as  the  quiet,  heavenly  joy 
that  beamed  from  the  face  of  this  humble 
disciple. 


282  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XXVIII. 

THE  AGED   AUCTIONEER. 

TjlAMILY    BIBLES   are   of    modern  mis- 
sionary introduction  into  Turkey  homes, 
and  so  don't  tell  wlien  tlie  angels  brought 
the  ancestors  of  the  rising  generation. 

On  the  plain,  flat  tombstone,  then,  of  our 
patriarchal  pilgrim  is  inscribed  only,  "  Died 
in  1869 ; "  for  he  himself  used  to  say,  as  do 
most  old  people  in  this  land,  "  God  only 
knows  when  I  was  born."  But,  by  the  aid 
of  certain  historical  landmarks  located  by 
him  in  his  boyhood,  we  were  able  to  infer, 
that  some  time  during  the  reign  of  the  fa- 
mous but  unfortunate  sultan,  Abdul  Hamet, 
probably  about  the  year  1780,  the  comely 
form  of  baby  Garabed  ("  Forerunner  ")  first 


GEACE   ILLUSTRATED.  283 

gladdened  the  eyes  of  his  father  Harootune 
("  Resurrection ")  and  his,  to  us,  nameless 
mother,  in  their  home  in  Gaban  Maden,  then 
the  capital  of  the  Harpoot  pashalic. 

His  ancestral  patronymic,  Ockle  Deryesian, 
which  is  not  Armenian,  but  Turkish,  and 
means  "  sea  of  wisdom,"  shows  the  estima- 
tion in  which  the  family  had  been  held  by 
the  Turks ;  but,  as  this  reputation  may  have 
been  the  reward  of  paternal  sharpness  in 
auctioneering,  we  can  not,  unhesitatingly, 
adopt  the  old  style,  and  assert  that  they 
were  "  poor,  but  honest."  Honest,  accord- 
ing to  the  Scripture,  or  even  the  Occidental 
standard,  they  surely  were  not ;  for  no  auc- 
tioneers are  so  in  this  land. 

Young  Garabed  had  fallen  upon  troublous 
times,  even  for  troubled  Turkey.  His  youth 
was  terrified  by  the  terrible  janizaries,  more 
pitiless  in  these  then  wild  regions  than  in 
Constantinople,  where  the  head  of  a  "  Chris- 


284  GEACE  ILLTJSTRATED. 

tian  dog  "  was  cheaper  than  even  that  of  the 
real  animal. 

His  manhood  saw  the  revolt  against  the 
attempt  of  Sultan  Mahmoud  to  levy  sol- 
diers to  supply  the  place  of  the  exterminated 
janizaries,  when  the  terrible  Reshid  Pasha 
made  the  streets  of  Maden  run  with  the 
blood  of  hundreds,  and,  to  increase  the 
popular  terror,  impaled  living  revolters  upon 
the  different  highways  leading  from  the 
city,  and  pommeled  the  heads  of  others  in 
huge  stone  mortars. 

Older  inhabitants  still  tell  how  they  saw 
seventy  heads  cut  off  by  a  single  yatagan, 
and  the  trunks  thrown  into  the  Euphrates ; 
and  that,  on  the  third  day  after  his  impale- 
ment, one  poor  wretch  transferred  his  girdle 
to  his  head  to  protect  it  from  the  rain. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  from  such 
scenes  of  horror,  repeated  in  one  form  and 
another  through  his  entire  youth  and  early 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  285 

manhood,  Garabed  came  out  with  his  natural 
sensibilities  unblunted,  his  heart  still  tender 
and  sensitive  as  a  httle  child's  to  sights  or 
tales  of  suffering.  It  was  this  which  made 
him  eager  to  visit  at  once  any  sick  person 
to  whom  he  hoped  to  do  any  good,  and 
which  made  him  ever  a  welcome,  because 
sympathizing  visitor,  to  the  sick  and  suffer- 
ing Mohammedans,  as  well  as  to  nominal 
Christians. 

When  the  suppression  of  the  revolt,  and 
the  transfer  of  the  capital  to  Harpoot,  began 
for  Maden  that  work  of  decay  which  has 
reduced  it  from  a  flourishing  city  to  a 
comparatively  insignificant  village,  Garabed 
removed  to  this  city,  and  continued  the 
busiuess  which  procured  for  him  his  sur- 
name, Talal  ("  Auctioneer  "). 

When  we  read  the  inspired  description 
of  all  our  rising  race,  that  "  they  go  astray 
as  soon  as  they  be  born,  speaking  lies,"  and 


286  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

remember  that  our  Talal  was  not  only 
brought  up  in  the  Orient,  and  with  no  Bible 
or  religious  teachings  of  any  kind,  and  that 
auctioneers  in  this  land  go  from  house  to 
house,  and  man  to  man,  telling  what  pre- 
ceding bids  have  been,  and  trying  to  get 
bigger  ones,  and  that  often  the  amount  of 
their  own  commissions  depends  upon  the 
amount  of  successful  lying,  we  can  easily 
imagine  that  our  prospective  saint  had  one 
very  steep  and  long  hill,  "  Difficulty,"  to 
ascend,  before  reaching  the  city  whose  gates 
exclude  all  liars. 

Those  who  have  not  breathed  from  in- 
fancy an  atmosphere  of  falsehood,  whose 
very  bones  have  not  been  pervaded  and 
almost  disintegrated  by  its  poisonous  efflu- 
via, can  never  truly  sympathize  with  the 
feebleness  of  those  who,  born,  and  having 
long  dwelt,  in  this  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  awake,  at  length,  to  an  effort  to 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  287 

escape  from  it,  and  rise  to  the  pure  air  and 
crystal  light  of  truth. 

Then,  too,  the  position  of  nominal  Chris- 
tians in  this  land,  crushed  for  centuries 
heneath  grinding  Moslem  oppression,  is  fitted 
to  excite  and  strengthen  a  spirit  of  greed 
and  parsimony,  a  "get-all-you-can,  keep-all- 
you-get "  disposition,  which  is  second  only 
to  falsehood  in  its  demoralizing  influence  on 
the  soul.  "When  it  is  remembered  that  our 
hero  lived  under  the  full  power  of  these 
demoralizing  influences,  daily  pursuing  his 
business  of  auctioneering,  for  more  than 
threescore  years  and  ten,  we  may  rely  upon 
our  readers  to  believe  and  bear  in  mind, 
without  further  repetition  of  the  fact  by  us, 
that  when,  on  the  verge  of  his  second  child- 
hood, poor  old  Talal  first  read  the  gospel 
terms,  and  learned,  that,  to  be  saved,  he 
must  first  undo  his  life's  work,  he  felt,  and 
felt  to  the  last  day  of  his  Christian  pilgrim- 


288  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

age,  that  his  was  a  hard  task,  —  one  which 
only  divine  strength  could  enable  him  to 
complete.  It  will  easily  be  beheved  that 
we,  who  thought  we  saw  the  strugglings 
of  the  new  principle  of  Christian  life  within 
him,  felt  called  upon  to  watch  over  and 
warm  and  nurse  the  poor  old  patient,  much 
as  a  tender  nurse  would  a  cholera  or  typhoid 
patient  just  rising  from  the  gates  of  death. 
We  fed  him  carefully  with  the  sincere  milk 
of  the  Word,  laid  no  very  heavy  burdens 
upon  him,  put  his  Christian  integrity  to  no 
hard,  rude  tests,  and  hoped,  to  the  last,  that 
he  was  slowly  fitting  for  those  mansions 
which  nothing  unclean  shall  ever  enter. 

It  was  in  1855,  on  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Dunmore  in  Harpoot,  that  old  Talal  gained 
his  first  idea  of  simple,  pure  gospel  truth, 
separated  from  its  muddy  admixture  in  the 
dead  tongue  and  deader  ritual  of  the  Arme- 
nian Church. 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  289 

He  at  once  bought  a  primer,  and  learned 
to  read,  and,  by  his  success,  furnished  a  text 
for  many  a  profitable  sermon  to  the  old,  on 
their  ability  and  duty  to  learn  to  read  God's 
word ;  for  the  old  man,  who,  for  so  many 
years  had  cried  his  wares  through  the 
streets  of  the  capital,  was  known  to  almost 
everybody  throughout  the  pashalic.  And, 
having  learned  to  read,  he  put  his  Testa- 
ment and  hymn-book,  and,  later  still,  a 
little  book  of  prayers,  into  his  bosom,  from 
which  he  never  removed  them,  except  for 
sleep  or  reading,  till  his  dying-day.  And 
go  past  his  little  variety-shop  when  we 
might,  —  for,  beginning  the  Christian  life, 
he  left  off  auctioneering  as  a  business,  — 
we  saw  him,  if  not  serving  a  customer,  serv- 
ing himself  from  his  bosom  stores.  * 

Unfortunately,  his  wife  was  too  near  a 
relative  to  her  of  poor  old  Job's  or  Socrates' 
home  to  encourage  or  help  him  at  all  in  his 

10 


290  GEACE  ILLUSTEATED. 

Christian  pilgrimage :  so  he  kept  plodding 
on  alone. 

There  was  one  employment  for  which,  by 
his  tall,  erect,  manly  form,  and  his  graceful 
bearing,  as  well  as  the  respect  felt  for  him 
by  all,  Armenians  and  Turks  alike,  he  was 
peculiarly  fitted,  and  in  which  he  took  both 
pride  aijd  delight,  —  that  of  being  guide  and 
body-guard  to  escort  the  missionary  ladies 
going  to  hold  female  prayer-meetings  in 
different  and  distant  parts  of  the  city.  The 
delight  came  in,  when,  on  arriving  at  the 
place  of  meeting,  and  carefully  tying  the 
donkey  in  a  safe  place,  his  age  and  known 
simplicity  of  character  secured  him  admit- 
tance to  the  meetings  themselves,  no  one 
objecting. 

He  apparently  loved  the  place  of  prayer 
as  well  as  did  the  good  old  deacon  in  War- 
ren, Me.,  who,  being  asked  how  many  were 
present  at  a  certain  meeting,  replied,  "  Two, 


GBACE  ILLUSTRATED.  291 

Jesus  and  I ;  and  we  had  a  blessed  time." 
He  was  seldom  absent,  never,  except  from 
illness ;  and  when  the  feebleness  of  age 
bowed  his  tall  form,  and  a  local  injury  made 
it  painful  for  him  to  sit,  it  was  affecting  to 
see  him,  in  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold, 
slowly  and  painfully,  but  with  radiant  face, 
making  his  way  to  the  sanctuary,  leaning 
upon  his  staff.  We  miss  him  sadl}-  from  his 
familiar  place  at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit-stairs, 
so  nearly  beneath  the  sanctuary  droppings, 
that  no  one  else  cares  to  fill  the  vacant 
place.  When  he  could  no  longer  walk  as 
escort  to  the  female  prayer-meetings,  we,  at 
his  request,  provided  him  with  a  donkey  to 
ride  ;  and  thus,  up  nearly  to  the  time  of  his 
last  brief  illness,  he  enjoyed  his  coveted 
privilege.  Never  but  once  did  any  one 
venture,  in  his  presence,  to  offer  any  dis- 
respect to  his  protegees;  and  then  he  at 
once  put  himself  in  the  path  of  the  drunken 
Turkish  soldier,  and  turned  him  aside. 


292  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

In  spirit  and  manner,  he  was  a  born  and 
trained  servant,  sucli  a  one  as  our  republi- 
can soil  can  not  produce,  nor  our  equality- 
loving  citizens  train,  on  any  soil.  The " 
charge,  that  we  missionaries  spoil  all  our 
servants  —  or  must  I  be  more  Occidental, 
and  call  them  helj)?  —  by  teaching  them 
such  republican  notions  that  we  serve  rather 
than  they,  is,  I  fear,  true  in  all  cases  except 
this  one  of  Garabed,  who  came  to  our  hands 
too  old  to  be  cured  of  any  ways  which  were 
not  anti-gospel.  "On  my  head,"  was  his 
uniform  reply  to  every  expressed  wish,  with 
a  final  "  Any  thing  more  ?  "  at  leaving,  even 
when,  as  at  times,  he  meant  to  have  his  own 
way,  wliich  was  only  in  those  very  few  cases 
in  which  he  was  sure  he  knew  better  than 
we  how  a  thing  ought  to  be  done. 

There  are  some  vices  —  or  must  we  call 
them  virtues  in  such  cases?  —  which  even 
the  gospel  don't  cure,  but  only  renders  them 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  293 

more  inveterate.  A  conscientious,  Christian 
bigot,  one  who  means  to  compel  all  mankind 
to  believe  and  do  just  right,  and  get  to 
heaven  in  spite  of  themselves,  is  the  most 
intolerable  of  all  nuisances,  one  which  can 
be  expressed  by  but  one  word,  — pope. 

Now,  happily,  our  Talal's  bigotry,  if  such 
it  can  be  called,  didn't  touch  at  all  the 
domain  of  religion,  and  didn't  reach  the 
area  of  other  people's  activities.  He  only 
silently  maintained  sometimes  his  right  to 
do  his  employers'  work  in  his  own  way.  He 
had,  for  instance,  no  respect  for  our  fasti- 
dious prejudice  against  drinking  from  the 
same  vessel  with  that  "  noblest  of  animals," 
the  horse ;  and  so,  in  spite  of  all  our  protes- 
tations, he  continued  to  water  horses,  mules, 
and  donkeys  from  our  fountain  bucket. 
This  he  continued  to  do  till  despair  quick- 
ened our  wits  into  curing  one  vice  by 
another;  and,  appealing  to  his  yet  uncured 


294  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

love  of  money,  we  said,  "  Yes,  it  is  easier  to 
water  the  animals  there  :  so  we  will  forbid 
you  no  more.  Go  on,  then,  only  letting  us 
know  how  many  bucketsfuU  they  drink, 
and  you  shall  have  it  for  a  piaster  a  bucket." 
The  horses  and  we  never  again  di-ank  from 
the  same  vessel. 

The  old  man  was  apparently  inveterately 
addicted  to  the  Oriental  habit  of  smoking; 
and,  while  telling  him  it  was  harmful,  we 
could  not  find  it  in  our  hearts  to  insist  that 
he  discard  his  pipe,  except  on  our  own 
premises,  and  particularly  in  the  stable, 
which  was  then  beneath  our  house. 

But  the  good  old  man  was  sure  he  knew 
better  than  we  that  smoking  was  good  for 
him,  and,  moreover,  couldn't  be  harmful  to 
our  stable  ;  and  surely  he  who  loved  us  so 
well  could  never  do  so  naughty  a  thing  as 
to  set  fire  to  our  property.  And  so  the 
dangerous   habit  was  slyly  indulged  in  the 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  295 

forbidden  place,  and  no  suspicious  snuffings 
of  ours,  and  declarations  that  there  was 
the  smell  of  tobacco-smoke,  could  convince 
him  of  the  fact,  till  one  day  I  scented  out 
the  yet  burning  pipe  hid  in  a  corner  of  the 
building.  The  offending  thing  was,  of 
course,  punished  by  being  thrown  into  the 
street,  and  its  master  bidden  to  reflect  on  his 
part  of  the  sin  in  thus  deceiving  us.  This 
brief  sermon  on  his  besetting  sin  did  its 
work;  and  he  went  home  solemnly  vowing  to 
cut  off  the  offending  right  hand.  And  he 
did  it.  Much  to  our  surprise,  he  never 
smoked  again,  but  became,  from  that  day,  an 
anti-tobacco  apostle.  Such  was  his  zeal,  that 
be  composed  a  poem,  copies  of  which  he  had 
written  out,  and  put  up  in  the  two  city 
churches,  where  others  might  read,  and 
profit  by  his  experience,  when  he  should  be 
gone.  We  give  a  nearly  word-for-word 
translation  of  it,  hoping  that  its  wider  pub- 


296  GEACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

lication  may  do  good  where   the   old  man 
never  expected  it. 

"  For  many  years  tobacco's  slave, 
To  it  I've  service  done  : 
Of  money  much  I  wasted  have, 
Advantage  gaining  none. 

E'en  to  old  age,  from  boyhood's  days, 

I  tribulation  bore, 
Alas,  for  those  my  foolish  ways  I 

But  now  my  slavery's  o'er. 

O  boys  !  now  fix  your  eyes  on  me, 

And  to  my  words  give  heed  : 
You  yet  from  it  are  wholly  free  : 

Don't  touch,  don't  smell,  the  weed. 

And  brethren ,  you  who  love  the  stuff, 
And  it  habitually  do  puff, 
To  your  own  selves  you  damage  do  ; 
Try,  gain  the  victory,  I  beg  you. 

Why  will  you  squander  money  so? 

Break  up  all  those  chibouques  I 
And  cigarettes  are  worthless  too  : 

Spend  money  for  good  works- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  297 

This  my  brief  life  is  nearly  o'er, 
Soon  shall  I  leave  this  earthy  shore  ; 
Thus,  as  I  to  my  fathers  go, 
This  my  last  counsel  I  leave  you." 
(Signed)  Talal  Garabed. 

I  have  read  somewhere  a  statement,  that, 
in  1867,  one  religious  denomination  in  the 
United  States  paid  two  million  dollars  for 
tobacco  used  by  them,  and  left  their  mis- 
sionary treasury  seventy-six  thousand  dol- 
lars in  debt. 

Would  that  some  one  had  given  the  sta- 
tistics for  other  denominations !  But  one 
thing  is  sure.  The  Master  keeps  the  ac- 
count in  his  ledger ;  and  if  some  Christians 
who  spend  more  on  tobacco  in  defiling  God's 
air  with  its  smoke,  and  —  oh,  tell  it  not  in 
Gath ;  for  not  even  infidel  Turks  do  that  — 
his  earth  with  their  nasty  expectorations, 
than  they  pay  for  supporting  the  gospel  at 
home   and  abroad,  don't  blush  at  meeting 


298  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

old  Garabed  in  those  pure  mansions,  it  must 
be  because  divine  compassion  takes  away 
there  the  power  of  shame  for  the  follies  and 
sins  of  earth. 

The  poor  old  man  had  one  lifelong  grief 
in  the  fact,  that,  in  his  home,  he  was  alone  in 
trying  to  live  the  Christian  life.  His  wife, 
as  before  mtimated,  scolded  him  for  his 
Protestant  ways  ;  his  daughters  were  mar- 
ried to  men  (one  of  them  a  leading  man 
in  the  city)  who  were  far  from  the  truth; 
and,  of  his  two  sons,  the  elder,  in  his  tall 
manly  figure  the  image  of  his  father,  had 
early  gone  to  Constantinople  as  groom  to 
the  British  ambassador,  where  he  led  any 
thing  but  a  sober  life ;  while  the  youngest, 
the  Benjamin  of  the  family,  saddened  his 
father's  heart  for  a  time  by  his  vicious 
ways,  and  finally  almost  broke  it  by  leav- 
ing him  in  his  old  age,  and  running  away 
to  the  capital. 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  299 

But  these  sorrows  seemed  only  to  make 
the  poor  old  pilgrim  cling  the  more  closel}'" 
to  his  hymn-book,  his  Testament,  and  his 
Saviour ;  developing  more  fully  his  child- 
like simplicity  of  Christian  character.  A 
sort  of  shrinking  diffidence  seemed  to  grow 
with  his  years  and  his  Christian  growth. 
Though  possessing  naturally  quite  a  fine, 
sonorous  voice,  such  was  his  apparent  timid- 
ity in  public  prayer,  that,  when  he  "  took 
part "  in  a  meeting,  the  part  became  practi- 
cally the  whole  to  the  rest  of  us,  since, 
hearing  not  a  word,  we  could  only  say 
amen  in  our  hearts  to  the  many  good  peti- 
tions he  was  supposed  to  offer.  This  was, 
in  part,  no  doubt  due  to  the  sudden  transi- 
tion from  the  read,  ritualistic  church-service 
of  threescore  years  and  ten,  in  which  he  had 
been  only  a  hearer  and  spectator,  to  the 
voluntary  simple  forms  of  Protestant  wor- 
ship. 


800  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

As,  however,  he  was  elsewhere  fearless 
and  outspoken,  we  at  one  time  hoped  to 
make  him  useful  as  a  traveling  preacher, 
crying  gospel-wares  all  abroad  in  his  old 
auctioneer  tones.  But  the  attempt  proved 
a  complete  failure.  On  his  return  from  his 
first  circuit,  when  asked  what  he  had 
preached  to  the  people,  he  replied,  "  Bak 
che  gah,  masoonk  che  gah,  surpotes  pare- 
hosootune  che  gah"  ("Tliere  are  no  fasts, 
there  are  no  relics,  and  no  intercession  of 
the  saints").  And  such  had,  in  fact,  been 
the  substance  of  his  crying  aloud.  Rescued 
in  old  age  from  the  darkness  of  a  system 
which  made  fastings,  relic-worship,  and  call- 
ing on  the  saints  the  substance  of  Christian 
duty,  and  entering  again  among  those  still 
similarly  benighted,  his  first  impulse  was  to 
cry  out  against  the  clouds  which  were  ob- 
scuring the  Sun  of  righteousness,  So  we 
concluded  that  the  good    old    man    could 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  801 

preach  Christ  best  by  humbly  living  him  at 
home.  And  this  he  continued  to  do,  feebly 
and  stammeringly  at  times,  indeed,  but  still 
preaching  him  alike  to  all,  both  Mohamme- 
dans and  nominal  Christians,  till  at  length, 
bowed  by  the  weight  of  almost  fourscore 
years  and  ten,  he  betook  himself  to  his  little 
upper  room,  and  lay  down  upon  his  humble 
couch  to  witness  for  him  once  more  by  a 
peaceful  Christian  death.  Yes,  peaceful, 
full  of  peace :  that's  the  word  to  tell  all 
the  story.  As  in  life,  so  in  death,  there 
were  no  raptures,  no  exultings,  but  only  a 
trustful,  tranquil  waiting  for  the  Master's 
coming. 

He  loved  to  tliink  and  talk  of  the  crystal 
walls,  the  pearly  gates,  and  the  golden  streets ; 
but  he  did  it  in  much  the  same  way  as  a  sick 
child  would  talk  of  getting  well,  and  going 
home  once  more. 

He  craved  the  privilege  of  burial,  not  in 


302  GRACE   ILLUSTRATED. 

Oriental  style,  but  in  a  coffin,  and  begged  us 
to  sing  at  the  grave,  — 

"Joyfully,  joyfully  onward  I  move, 
Bound  to  the  land  of  bright  spirits  above: 
Augehc  choristers  sing  as  I  come, 
Joyfully,  joyfully  haste  to  thy  home! 
Soon  with  my  pilgrimage  ended  below, 
Home  to  the  land  of  bright  spirits  I'll  go: 
Pilgrim  and  stranger  no  more  shall  I  roam. 
Joyfully,  joyfully  resting  at  home." 

His  wish  was  gratified,  and,  on  the  day  of 
his  burial,  a  larger  crowd  than  at  any  funeral 
here  before  or  since  gathered  at  the  Protes- 
tant church  to  do  honor  to  the  man  whom 
all  had  known,  and,  in  spite  of  his  weaknesses, 
known  only  to  respect  and  love.  And,  as  we 
gazed  upon  his  peaceful  face,  we  thought  of 
him  as  indeed  joyfully  resting  at  home. 

At  the  head  of  the  coffin  sat  his  first-born, 
Jacob,  who  had  returned  from  the  capital  in 
time  to  be  welcomed  by  the  old  man's  glad, 


GEACE  ILLUSTRATED.  303 

•warm  embrace  before  he  lay  down  to  die. 
Since  his  father's  death,  he  has  begun  to 
attend  the  Protestant  service  occasionally. 
Will  not  all  who  read  this  simple  story  offer 
at  least  one  earnest  petition,  that  both  he  and 
the  yet  absent  Benjamin  may  return  to  their 
heavenly  Father  with  the  penitent  prodi- 
gal's confession  and  prayer,  and  follow  their 
father  in  the  way  to  heaven? 


504  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 


XXIX. 

PILGRIM  ANNA. 

A  BOUT  four  years  after  the  coming  of 
Garabed,  "  the  Aged  Auctioneer,"  in 
Maden,  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  his  parents, 
two  other  parental  hearts,  in  a  home  some 
hundred  miles  north-east  of  the  capital,  were 
disappointed  and  saddened  by  the  advent  of 
"  nothing  but  a  girl,"  a  portraiture  of  whom 
may  make  a  good  "  companion  picture  "  for 
that  of  old  Talal,  since,  like  him,  she  in  mature 
life  migrated  to  the  new  capital,  where,  in 
old  age,  she  learned  and  received  the  simple 
gospel  story,  and,  like  him,  went  home,  being 
about  ninety  years  of  age.  During  this  time 
she  had  lived  with  a  husband  nearly  half  a 
century,  and  remained  a  widow  thirty-three 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  805 

years.  Her  early  life,  like  that  of  old  Gara- 
becl,  was  passed  amid  scenes  of  oppression 
and  violence,  but  among  Koords  rather  than 
Turks.  Like  him,  she  was  a  person  of  tall, 
erect  form,  and  graceful  movements ;  but  here 
the  likeness  ceases.  While  we  could  not 
surely  certify  to  her  uniformly  conscientious 
truthfulness  from  the  first,  we  can  say,  that 
if,  during  her  later  years,  she  ever  told  lies, 
it  must  have  been  some  as  the  good  old  fa- 
ther of  the  faitliful  did,  —  when  under  very 
strong  temptation.  Nor  was  she  apparently 
covetous. 

The  natural  traits  for  which  she  was 
most  noted  were  fearless  energy,  gratitude 
for  favors  received,  and  religiousness.  The 
last  made  her  devoted  in  performance  of  the 
rites  and  duties  of  the  Armenian  Church,  and 
equally  conscientious  in  acting  up  to  her  new 
found  gospel  light.  Her  fearlessness  and 
energy  are  best  illustrated  by  the  fact,  that 

20 


306  GRACE   rLLUSTEATED. 

when  seventy  years  old,  unattended  by  any 
one  to  care  for  her,  simply  hiring  an  animal 
in  a  caravan  going  thither,  she  set  out  upon 
a  six-months'  pilgrimage  to  the  holy  city, 
Jerusalem ;  which  visit  gave  her  the  surname 
Haji  ("Pilgrim  "),  the  name  which  the  Turks 
apply  also  to  those  of  their  faith  who  have 
paid  their  devotions  at  the  sacred  shrine  in 
Mecca.  We  suggest,  for  the  investigation  of 
the  curious,  why  it  is  that  while  Armenian 
males  who  have  seen  the  holy  sepulcher  are 
called  in  their  own  tongue  Mahdesee  ("  Seer 
of  the  death")  as  well  as  Haji,  females 
receive  only  the  Turkish  appellation,  one 
which  is  practically  more  honorable,  as  being 
in  the  ruling  tongue. 

We  regret  not  having  obtained  the  story 
of  her  journey  from  the  mouth  of  the  old 
pilgrim  herself;  but  we  can  easily  imagine 
most  of  the  scenes  in  Jerusalem  itself  and 
the  holy  places  abput  it,  —  the  eager,  igno- 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  807 

rant,  fanatical,  frenzied  devotion  at  the  sup- 
posed sacred  sites  of  the  birth,  the  crucifixion, 
and  the  burial  of  our  Lord,  and  the  process  of 
plundering  in  those  dens  of  thieves  hard  by, 
the  homes  of  the  ecclesiastics.  Her  daugh- 
ter, with  an  apparent  unconsciousness  of  its 
wrongfulness,  characteristic  of  those  living 
under  such  a  government,  tells  us  of  the 
tone  of  triumph  with  which  the  holy  pilgrim, 
on  her  return,  presenting  her  child  with 
materials  for  a  suit  of  clothes,  exclaimed,  "I 
bought  these  in  the  holy  city,  and  hid  them 
in  my  sJialvars  (Turkish  trousers),  and  thus 
escaped  paying  duty  at  the  gates,  and  have 
brought  them  so  all  the  way."  And  on  the 
way  she  alone  of  all  the  caravan  escaped  pay- 
ing a  tax  in  gross,  levied  near  Damascus  by 
the  Arabs,  who  carried  off  horses  and  all, 
except  the  one  on  which  she  rode,  which  she 
put  to  his  highest  speed,  and  thus  saved  him 
to  his  owner,  who,  stripped  of  all  his  other 


308  GEACE  ILLUSTBATED. 

possessions,  reached  Harpoot  some  time  after 
her  arrival  here. 

I  At  another  time,  hearing  a  cry  from  a 
neighbor's  house,  she  rushed  in  to  find  the 
master  crying  out  in  helpless  distress  because 
four  gypsy  women  were  robbing  his  house. 
The  courageous  crusader  gave  them  all  a 
sound  beating,  and  sent  them  on  their  way. 

She  seems  to  have  been  of  that  rare  class 
whose  physical  force  is  increased  by  anger. 
And,  while  giving  her  characteristics,  we 
may  as  well  whisper  a  confession,  that,  like 
the  rest  of  us  mortals,  the  good  lady,  both 
before  and  after  the  beginning  of  her  saintly 
experience,  did  at  times  get  angry,  only,  per- 
haps, a  little  oftener  than  some  of  us,  and  a 
little  more  so. 

A  characteristic  story  by  a  person  at  our 
elbow,  illustrating  this  impetuous  weakness, 
we  refrain  from  telling,  lest,  to  accidental 
ears,  it  pass  at  a  premiimi.     Suffi.ee  it  to  say, 


GRACE  ILLUSTEATED.  309 

that,  even  in  her  later  and  more  saintly  days, 
our  Haji  had  occasion  often  to  recall  the 
divine  declaration,  "  He  that  is  slow  to 
anger  is  better  than  the  mighty,  and  he 
that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh 
a  city." 

Almost  immediately  on  the  coming  of  Mr. 
Dnnmore  to  Harpoot,  she,  with  her  daughter 
(wife  of  "  God's  Bedros ")  and  family,  at- 
tached themselves  to  the  gospel  party.  Unfor- 
tunately, her  perhaps  waning  courage  and 
spirit  were  not  equal  to  the  labor  of  learning 
to  read ;  and  thus  the  Bible  was  to  her  eyes 
a  sealed  book.  But  it  could  not  be  such  to 
her  ears ;  for  she  was  always  glad  when  she 
could  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Of 
tliis  privilege  she  seldom  or  never  allowed 
herself  to  be  deprived.  Only  a  week  before 
her  death,  when  on  a  communion  sabbath, 
on  account  of  her  feebleness,  she  was  urged 
to  remain  at  home,  with  the  promise  that  the 


310  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

elements  should  be  brought  to  her  there, 
she  refused,  saying,  "  No !  I  will  go  on  my 
own  feet." 

She  was  constant  and  frequent  in  secret 
prayer,  so  much  so,  that  her  daughter,  who 
has  the  reputation  of  being  less  heavenly- 
minded,  once  said  to  her,  "  You  go  so  often 
to  your  little  room,  that  you  will  bring  Jesus 
down  into  it."  To  which  she  replied,  "  He 
is  my  all." 

But,  though  she  loved  much,  she  knew 
very  little,  if  one  can  be  said  to  do  so  who 
has  heart-knowledge  of  Christ  crucified.  So 
little  head  and  tongue  knowledge  had  she, 
that  she  made  three  attempts  before  getting 
into  the  church,  and  then  only  got  in  because 
we  who  knew  her  decided  that  come  in  she 
must.  Any  questions  about  Christian  doc- 
trine soon  bewildered  her  poor  old  head; 
and  she  would  exclaim,  "  I'm  only  a  poor  old 
woman.     I  don't  know  any  thing ; "  adding, 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  311 

one  day,  putting  her  hand  upon  her  heart, 
"  But  I  know  I  love  Jesus." 

So  all  doctrinal  questions  were  dropped 
next  time ;  and  all  the  examination  con- 
densed into  this,  "  Haji  Anna,  what  do  you 
hate  most  ?"  —  "  Sin." —  "  And  whom  do 
you  love  most  ?  "  —  "  Jesus."  So,  on  this  tes- 
timony of  her  tongue  and  life,  she  was  wel- 
come to  the  Lord's  table ;  and  no  one 
repented  of  the  step. 

In  the  kindness  of  her  heart,  she  prayed 
that  her  death  might  not  take  place  in  the 
winter,  because  then  the  sexton  would  suffer 
so  much  from  cold  in  digging  her  grave  in 
the  rocky  soil  of  the  Harpoot  cemetery.  She 
had  her  wish,  dying  on  the  30th  of  July. 
One  more  petition  she  asked  of  the  Lord. 
She  very  much  dreaded  the  physical  death- 
struggle,  and  often  said,  "  Lord,  it  will  be 
hard  to  die.  Be  thou  with  me  then."  The 
dreaded  struggle    came   not;    for   she    died 


312  GRACE  ILLUSTRATED. 

unexpectedly,  as  quietly  as  a  child  drops  to 
sleep.  During  the  few  days  of  her  illness, 
she  frequently  uttered  brief  ejaculatory 
prayers,  such  as,  "  Jesus,  I  have  trusted  in 
thee.  Be  with  me."  The  day  before  her 
death,  she  suddenly  called  her  daughter, 
who  finding  her  much  excited,  and  looking 
upward,  inquired,  "  Mother,  what  has  hap- 
pened ?  "  —  "  My  brother  Bedros  came,"  she 
replied,  referring  to  a  favorite  brother,  who 
died  about  forty  years  ago.  Shall  we  call 
all  such  seeming  appearances  of  the  loved 
and  departed  to  the  dying  mere  fancies  ?  or 
are  they  sometimes  but  foretastes  to  the 
departing  soul  of  the  blessed  companionships 
of  the  spirit-world?  Do  others  than  those 
whom  Jesus  loves  and  calls  see  such  messen- 
gers from  the  yet  unseen  world  to  which 
they  are  departing? 

Her  last  words  were  in  token  of  gratitude 
to  a  little  grandson,  who  brought  her  some 


GRACE  ILLUSTRATED.  313 

grapes.  "  God  bless  the  boy ! "  said  she  ;  and, 
without  any  sign  of  the  near  approach  of 
death,  instantly  passed  away,  and  passed,  as 
we  can  not  doubt,  into  the  presence  of  him 
in  whom  she  had  trusted. 


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